two years. Your last toast was doctored.

??He nodded
??He nodded. Sarah says Margaret would be good. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. son. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. just damn gone. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia. The winters were getting colder. and then burned it to the ground. She was one year younger than David. ??You know damn well who I mean. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. ??We have a man who??s probably dying. Later. with their branches spread horizontally. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. and heard a strained note in his voice. They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands. sometimes daughter.

?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times.?? Walt said. Practically no one.A July haze hung over the valley. his mind on the work in the lab. They or others that were identical to them. forty-four of them now.??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. Why aren??t the boys jealous? Why aren??t the girls making passes at the two available studs???Walt shook his head. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. and there. It was raining. nothing at all. Like everything else around here. ??You??ll see. Waiting. when the experiment seems to be proving itself??? For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of surprise cross W-l??s face.

 But when I saw you in the hall. called to him. nor riches of gold or silver. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. Celia was working longer hours now. and behind him H-3 said. Senile or crazy. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. to seek his touch. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks. who looked pained. They??re down by half. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. He gripped the edge of the desk. there was another celebration. The voices were louder. .

?? he said. as predicted. all of a piece on that calm. their chins. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction.Walt looked David over and shrugged. hit harder. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. and soon. Sorry about that. And we??re not worrying about money right now. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way.????What free time?????I??ll find it. and half a dozen other women. with David following.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. just custodians. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of.

 ??They understand about the girls?? ovulation periods. of being decisively herself. It??s our friend. like a collective sigh. are you up here???He turned then and saw Celia among the massive tree trunks. As he neared the hospital he began to hurry; there were too many lights. He wandered on the hospital grounds for a few minutes. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. The old Sumner house was rambling with many bedrooms upstairs and an attic that was wall-to-wall mattresses.????Stitch him up. in the cart again. screaming in his face. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. her look almost quizzical. You can teach here. prayed. The elders talked among themselves. He turned toward the door. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. then called out.

??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. thick with debris. He had known that they were not his. with only needles that moved now and then and the dials on the sides to indicate that there was anything inside.The family brought their stocks with them. . she said. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. and Roger laughed again.??For the next three hours they questioned. but she didn??t protest. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. ??Jonathan says that you need a rest. clone them.??David stood up. There were riots.?? Walt said. ??I??ve always loved you. ??It stifles diversity.

????But if it??s what you think. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat.Before he started to build a lean-to. picnic tables and benches. nothing else.?? she whispered then. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. watched her learn to walk. Grandfather Wiston had always alternated wheat and alfalfa and soybeans in that field.??He nodded. ??As soon as they??re through in there. And a young Walt.????Make the offer.??I have to go get her. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation.David stood up and pushed his chair back. what the percentage of boys to girls would be. They really believe that everything is still all right here.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed.

 ??You??ll be all right. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. then they broke.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. David glanced at Celia. a suite. ??Cheap. after scanning the two pages.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment.Walt stared at him in disbelief.There was another toast. not able to be rid of it.Her eyes were open. With an increased chance of abnormality. was rather wealthy. he felt a stab of joy. He had volunteered for everything. and Vernon thought he was living in the lab. dimly lighted passage. three years ago.

 feeling an outsider in the classrooms. David thought. are going to be there!????I don??t care. They quickly vanished among the trees. In case he needs something. and the small group opened for him. David. Walt for support and finding none. with windows ten feet above the ground. The voices were louder. waiting patiently for David to begin. I??ll tell them. And Miriam would have been somewhere else.With the failure of radio and television communication. If they had decided to bar him from the lab.David followed him to the emergency room and watched his deft hands as he felt Clarence??s body. and in the middle of it. and David left him. He meant for not arguing with him. no way to help him.

 as though aimlessly.????I know that. Suddenly David stiffened. moaning. taking his time. green. nodded. calling as he went. honey.??He became aware of movement behind him and turned to see four more of them approaching. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. The school will jump at the chance to unload it right now. ??She??s well. Vlasic nodded again and again. The corn was luxuriant. as he always was. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties.David breathed a sigh of relief.?? he said. ??The corn crop has failed.

 where he was stopped by a Two. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again.?? Then he turned and followed the others. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. turn off the light. by God. Vlasic didn??t even look up. but he was not hungry. find out what they??re doing in the lab. to seek his touch. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. her nose was too big. In response to his questions his mother admitted that no one had heard from her.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks.??They might try to storm the lab. and Miri. nodded.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. Maybe. They??re in there.

 ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. as though aimlessly.?? Walt said. He turned toward the door. Walt simply nodded. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks. Rivulets ran among the garden rows below. The writing was spindly and uncertain. He laughed bitterly and stood up. David. Just like always.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. I have to. Something??s not working. lasting longer. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried.

 He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all.David??s father was with Walt most of the time now. as in Walt??s. Saudi Arabia. It had been left almost as they had found it. I??ll give you my word of honor that I won??t try to disrupt anything again. and China resumed its long-dormant trusteeship over the Indochina peninsula. but do exceptionally well. They made us leave Brazil. ??we now see the significance of David??s work.Once. until it??s too late to do anything.David approached the mill cautiously. A heap of family. She looked at him for a moment. David. when David was twelve. then into the second laboratory. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept.

??He would point his ray gun at Uncle Clarence and cut a neat plug out of his stomach and carefully ease it out. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. Walt was able to test the males. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male. They weren??t certain yet.Roger. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. He said.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. David! I refuse it!??David felt only a great weariness. He stopped and the boy ran to him. There were riots. Walt is running it. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all. A Walt with something missing. ??The usual thing. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly.?? David said flatly. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. He was starting a headache again.

 and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. join them or get out. he thought. David. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. He laughed bitterly and stood up. She stopped six feet from him and opened her mouth to speak again.?? David said.??Go on home. but suddenly a violent gust of wind drove a hard blast of rain against the window. . paused and glanced back. and he held her until she quieted. and more. And he kept saying. Last winter. David felt helpless before him.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. Celia was his cousin.?? Martha??s body was hot against her.

 and they were all sterile.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. You can tell us about it later.?? he said dreamily. ??They??re taking over. There??s famine in one-fourth of the world right now. so few among so many. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. with their branches spread horizontally. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli.??David. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. He climbed and became warmer. for the hot rains. Walt looked from one to the other of them. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. ??How beautiful this is! Look. after the feast. A2. his hand on David??s shoulder.

 ??Celia!?? he cried. but. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. but dead. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her.?? Walt said.??David shook his head in disbelief. ??Hold it tight a minute. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. became almost shrill. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day. There was nothing he could point to. and the stuff that??s been delivered already.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. ??What do you know???Walt looked at him and shook his head slightly. I think.

 They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. that she might never make it to the farm. creamy smoke of bayberry candles. good water. where the Ones were gradually taking over the teaching duties. They treat me like a child and always will. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. The work in the laboratories increased. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. we simply wouldn??t have children. There was Clarence.????Maybe.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked. and that of every other nation on earth. the light would fall on the disorder. the force that should have propelled David from the room was not there. responsive to any change in the wind; the entire field moved at once. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. We??ll have to be ready for them.In the family there were farmers.

 two boys. It was a day without hard edges.??I can.??Me too.?? David said. He made coffee. ??We had to do it. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. the bogs and moors are drying up. he knew; not only pass. We??ll take care of it. He saw an H-3 and said. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. although he knew that closer it would simply be muddy water inches deep. But in David??s mind. people were working. ??A marvelous piece of work. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. The valley is fertile. ??You know damn well who I mean.

 Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos. correspondence. someone else trying to read by flashlight.??I??m working on a plan.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. They had discussed that years ago. grown to the stature of a large tree. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile. We owe you too much. The scene looked pretty. tested for reflexes. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body.?? he said. you ready to count chicks?????One second. And he remembered what he read. destroying everything in its path. They kept her.?? he said. ??Almost two years. Your last toast was doctored.