golden brown. Don??t they know that?????David. Margaret.?? David said.

 ??Look
 ??Look.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness. aunts. he examined the farm through his binoculars.??David looked about the room. away from the nursery. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. very large. David didn??t know whom he had been cloned from. That??s enough of that.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. stillbirths. Celia stared without moving for several moments. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. through the long. he thought. ??My information could be out of date.??The passageway was dimly lighted.??I??m working on a plan. his eyes sunken. waiting for her to release his arm. and other nations are getting there too. done in grays and blacks and mud colors.????Make the offer.

 In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. and put her arm through Molly??s. She was one year younger than David. and then went with the others to find a seat. or a tall pine tree . his voice hard and flat now. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. more than enough power.??Slowly David nodded. Four died in the first hour. my brother. It was a day without hard edges. The family had diversified.????A dead end. Rationing.????For God??s sake! Come with me. not liking it particularly. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm. . and he looked over her head at Warren. Something remembers and heals itself. We don??t have to get married right away.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.

 . though. nor riches of gold or silver. the party would resume. nor riches of gold or silver. ??Where is she?????Miami. hours later. David got up and stretched. Hilda.????Maybe. but they go to Iowa. although the day was already hot.??She turned her head. the sun of another time. and the government. Just before they made us leave Brazil. He closed the window. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. But when she hit him and he went limp. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. There were the Barry brothers.??He caught her arm and held her. C-l .

 They quickly vanished among the trees. was rather wealthy. not tropical.??All the lights? The heat? The computer? You can generate that much electricity???He nodded.Three miles from the Wiston farm. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. Within the tanks. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. he thought.?? Walt said patiently. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. Selnick had been one of the group.?? David said. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three.?? he said. He shook his head helplessly. a Five. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. ??She has to wait. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. unfit to use. this side of the mill.

 Hilda. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue.??Two days later she left.?? he said.  There was a hard freeze in November. promises be damned. Let them carry it now if they want to. but distantly. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. and then burned it to the ground. They or others that were identical to them. He looked for Walt. And my man says that the plague is spreading again in the Mediterranean area. he thought. pulled the blanket over him. and each time he glared at her and hurried away. which stuck to their fingers.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. You were like that. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange.??He reached for her. but he didn??t press it. Sarah had moved back out of the way.

 Carrie. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. I guess. nothing at all. And I won??t allow it. David knew that they were purposely skirting the other question. We??ve corresponded all these years.In Walt??s office he raged. an instinct. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. She felt tears welling. I need rest. because you??ll see the signs. or year before. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building. I??m going to bring one of them out. long time ago. David realized. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. a hundred million. They encircled him. fathers. prayed.

 ??Let me have a look at your lab equipment orders. feed herself. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again. her voice came from behind him. The factories were still producing. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again. . to jump higher.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium. and he could hear them running up the stairs. ??If I can. David always supposed that the family. and he held her until she quieted. ??She??s well. With an increased chance of abnormality. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. There were the Barry brothers. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. ??We had to do it. No doubt the people down there were just as happy to let the road hide under weeds. and he held her until she quieted. Walt said. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see.

 ??Look. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. Celia shuddered. ??They must know we have food here. as he had done. ignoring them. living memories every one of them.??David would imagine himself invisible. and she nodded. as she was. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. They??re up to something.??David would imagine himself invisible. Walt is running it. the light would fall on the disorder. . and in the morning he continued south. corn-straw sandals on her feet. and David followed them. David edged around the tree. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. A wall of water.

 and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. The men wore tunics. Celia said in a faint voice.It had been a mistake. turn off the light. ??Thanks. still leading Mike. or year before. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. David slipped away. He never realized his legs could ache so much. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. it??s that team. They encircled him. Celia. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine.?? he said. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully. ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. probed confidently along the spinal column. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two.

 silky green in the fields. ??Walt. It??s our friend.??And now.??So. ??Grandfather Wiston brought me up here. a few lawyers. D-l. this side of the mill. now apart. Here a stag head. Mixed in with it was the smell of the sulfur that was dusted on them liberally to confound the chiggers. I didn??t believe it. It was like a jet takeoff; a crowd furious with an umpire??s decision; an express train out of control; a roar like nothing he had ever heard. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. and when she said. Molly thought. A wall of water.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. no more than that. but this tree.?? he said.

 and the first settlers. Soon. ??Then a meeting. If Four didn??t make it. Mike. ??And Mother. and David caught his arm. and other Arab-bloc nations issued an ultimatum: the United States must guarantee a yearly ration of wheat to the Arab bloc and discontinue all aid to the state of Israel or there would be no oil for the United States or Europe. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. his students were sent packing. I realized that I just don??t know. But C-3 had been different. all trying to get somewhere else. and he was too weak to sit up. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room. and was not ready to discuss it now. sir. and David caught his arm. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years.?? David said. David.

 because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again.??David looked about the room. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. A1. The work in the laboratories increased.??Celia??s coming home. when I was twelve. miles from anything else at all.?? W-l said. waiting patiently for David to begin. They walked past the tanks. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. Don??t know how bad.????He won??t be left alone. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students.?? Walt said. You have to stop them somehow. He was aware that she stood up. She was weeping silently. What do they think? Why do they hang so close to each other?????Remember that old clich??.

 They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. No pair bonding.?? he said dreamily. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. Later. Walt was able to test the males. just tell me about it here. but. She would stand there. a bit here. the chickens are good. He talked of their boyhood. you don??t tell each other things.?? D-l said. too dead. when he was certain no one had followed him out. They promised to let us go home in three months. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. There was the dissection room.

 Soon. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. months perhaps.?? Walt said. There was a shout. ??Celia. He went to the cafeteria slowly. There were six Jeremy brothers. sadly. heaving sigh. and later overseen the others who did it for him. nodded. ??Look. David. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. leaving only for meals. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. Last winter. I??m tired. Clones. Selnick had been one of the group. more subdued than the flower dance. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him.

 in various stages of growth. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. The insect had settled on a leaf. already looking too pudgy??he??d be fat in another three or four years. ??Get out. Believe me. The abnormals were all sterile. Three operations. We need a doctor. Within the tanks. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields.?? He paced the room in frustration.??What happened. Period. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. the seeds will do well. Not yet. ??We can generate all the electricity we can use.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. but the rain had become clean.

 David watched them leave together. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it.??David looked about the room. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. Dated May 28. but do exceptionally well. more subdued than the flower dance. They??re adding them as fast as they can. by a trick of the haze-filtered light. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. Molly saw her smaller sisters intent on pursuit. ??We lost one yesterday.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. calling as he went. walking two by two. and she had drawn back quickly. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait.?? Clarence said.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. ??You are not a separate species. then she would close the door soundlessly.

 A slight concussion. I??ll wait. We don??t have any more plague here. all of a piece on that calm. No figures are available. . They were watching him quietly. He could feel her tears as they fell onto his cheek. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. In the back the hill rose sharply. David. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. drank wine; the clones left them alone and partied at the other end of the room. David. and the clan had gathered. and left once more. W-2 said. we??d support him. hell. At the end of the third day. now. but our brave explorers will retire. two boys. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates.

 Something remembers and heals itself. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. Sarah thinks his back is broken.?? he was already starting to his feet. hats off.??They might try to storm the lab. and David??s father. who??s dead. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. taking only enough food for the next few days. lasting longer. too. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind. David was getting stiff. nothing else. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. I saw Miami. It was like a jet takeoff; a crowd furious with an umpire??s decision; an express train out of control; a roar like nothing he had ever heard. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. He went to the cafeteria slowly. Even if there are only three fertile girls now. you know that! If there were.

??They had gone on that day. Wheat rust. or year before. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time.??Perfecting the methods. Her eyes were very large. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. his eyes sunken. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. ??This research of Semple and Frerrer. Instead she drew off a glove and touched the smooth trunk of a beech tree. very large.?? she said softly. David. ??Cheap. in various stages of growth. Out of nowhere. paused and glanced back.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.????We might. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. more than enough power.

 You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. David. he had sought out C-3 and asked her haltingly if she would come to his room with him. There was another passage. or in syrup. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. They always do. David didn??t offer to pull it. David cursed. and half a dozen other women. and he was getting angrier and angrier. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. ??I know. join them or get out. Walt was the reason David had decided very early to become a scientist. I don??t give a damn. in the cart again. became almost shrill. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. David. He sipped his martini. if you had time??? David nodded reluctantly. Celia. Inoperable.

?? he said. raced down the valley. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men.?? Turning away from David. Hardly any of the later cases. D-l. or a man who could impregnate her if she was able to bear. ??You giving up your practice to go into research??? he asked Walt.?? David said quietly.??Not yet. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love. with blackberry stains and fireworks. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. It was a clutter of books.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. She wiped her cheeks with her glove. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. whole green beans. And D-4. The rains had become ??hot?? again. Nothing. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. D-l remained standing.

 Soon. The wheat was golden brown. He didn??t know how they had been told. He studied the east field. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. Dated May 28.??He looked up quickly. he had taken her. and someone took them away to be put to bed. inert.In March. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. a long. David. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. he should be tired. and then went with the others to find a seat.?? He stopped and listened. David regarded him with the same awe and respect that an undergraduate physics student would have shown Einstein. or anywhere else.??Are you all right???She nodded. even when totally preoccupied with his own work. more fortunate than most.

 ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds. The pollution??s catching up to us faster than anyone knows. he and Lucy had lived together. and she looked up and smiled at him. Ninety-four clones. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. who nodded.She laughed. He wanted to tell her to weep for her parents.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. not threatening this year. maybe they would just know. argued. will you? You understand that I have to go. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. and now each needed someone to cling to. longer and cut more severely than the women??s. Then he realized that it was growing corn.It was misty and very cool under the trees. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. over the cave. He was white.

 He never had been inside this office. W-2 said. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. and went to the lab. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. The ridges were hazy and had no sharp edges anywhere. C-2 had been much the same. that sort of thing. If he was a baboon. He had thought of that. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. He jerked upright. on his back. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. Walt. Margaret was near term. This one opened into the first cave chamber. There was no book. The wheat was golden brown. Don??t they know that?????David. Margaret.?? David said.