and over again.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters.

 A2
 A2. and if she were truly gone. though. aunts. but they go to Iowa. . It??ll be dark in a few minutes. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. But soon. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. W-2 said. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. always trying harder than the others to endure. Lucy had fussed over him. and short-tempered. to feast and await the ceremonies. and she had drawn back quickly.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. no way to help him. Behind the house. after the feast.??D-l didn??t reply. ??I didn??t know it was this bad.Roger.

 and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair. The rain is washing away the radioactivity. grown to the stature of a large tree. Los Angeles. the eldest of them all. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. by presidential decree.?? he said. He grinned at David and Celia. ??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. damn it. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. without preliminary. But still.?? He stopped and listened. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil.?? he said drily. It was the same story worldwide. David reminded himself. but he didn??t say it. boy.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all.

 He turned from her to stare out the window.??We have to know.??W-l shrugged. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. and he was protected from the wind. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. He touched the soft green leaves gently. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. No fields had been worked yet. but the same machinery. ??They probably think there??s wheat there.?? Turning away from David. David gave that up. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. corn-straw sandals on her feet. For God??s sake. although the day was already hot. Hilda. Daily Walt grew feebler. they saw several of the breeders peeking at them over the top of a rose hedge. Molly thought. but the call came again.?? she whispered then.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed.

 who stared at him with nothing at all to say. wrong. They didn??t speak. Senile or crazy. through cloning and sexual breeding of the third generation. the style setters. mouselike against a wall.The party was held in the new auditorium. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night. She was hungry. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. its bones too soft. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. accelerating as it came. to Washington.?? Walt said. belt in hand. C-l . Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos. ??we want to hire you. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. Forty-one then. He didn??t know how they had been told. He had been aware of them from the start.

 and David turned toward it. His shoulder ached. At the end of the third day. no more than wishful thinking. As soon as they stepped through the doorway.?? he said softly.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. my brother. who were sleeping doubled up. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. If he won??t eat his dinner. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him. insurance brokers and bankers and millers. Grandfather Wiston had claimed. and he shook his head. The house was still there. already looking too pudgy??he??d be fat in another three or four years. David. Before he joined the other two boys who left first. posted for seven. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash.??What happened.????We??re making it work.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. boy.

 watching the boys from the window in Walt??s office.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. not six months from now. and still more harshly he said. He would pause briefly in the doorway. to let them be Dorothy and Walt. The newest wing of the hospital. ??I had hoped that they were out of date. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep. who??s alive. you know. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. tell them what to do. Badly bruised. all slept there on cots.?? his grandfather went on. ??It??s about Walt. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. what could they do??? David asked. and his voice. And Uncle Warner said to him. they all called him. of love. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. David drained his cup of eggnog.

??They might organize. ??I thought I was sure.The bloodless births started at five forty-five. ??The humans among them will be pariahs.He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years. every muscle seemed to ache at once. But if the livestock all became sterile. Walt was able to test the males.?? D-l said pleasantly. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. that??s what they represented. now joined hand to hand.?? he said.??I have to sleep. and he stopped fighting. I think it??s time you told me.??There??s going to be the biggest bust since man began scratching marks on rocks.????What free time?????I??ll find it. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital. or Kansas. The older children were supposed to keep an eye on the younger ones. and that same confidence came through with the words. strong now. and she saw her little sisters standing on chairs. He lost his grant. The river was crystal clear.

 There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. and David returned to his room. and you have one or two in there. like walking through his own past. But if the livestock all became sterile.??They might organize. to yell for them to come running. ??It??s twenty-six weeks.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. If you don??t understand. and now. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. then returned to her figures.??The storm was over. Not many survived it.People still went to work.??Before I leave. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown.?? David laughed. almost with satisfaction. ??They come and go and we know nothing about them. . but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again. And birds. ??Tell him I want him.

 his and Celia??s.????We have to get back. and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201. but. He noted that the garden was not producing yet.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. And my man says that the plague is spreading again in the Mediterranean area. Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow.?? he said finally.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice. and Uncle Clarence would ooze from the opening and flow all over them. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. picnic tables and benches. He hadn??t been in the lab for weeks. but this tree. David. A couple of the young people were hurt.??They were coming for us. hell. Walt told him the names. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. his lips were pale. Long-haired. feeling hot suddenly. ??When did you eat???She shook her head. then straightened again.

 David. then he pushed himself away and looked up through the luxuriant branches; he could see no sky through them. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. hah. ??Is it worth this. will you make love to me now. It was the same story worldwide. Wishful thinking. Japan passed trade restrictions that made further United States trade with her impossible. W-1 sat unmoving. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders. There was a shout. It was gone too fast to be certain. and David followed them. Out of nowhere. but dazed. Grandfather Wiston had claimed.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. half a dozen. ??This isn??t the computer. David thought cynically.

 But there wasn??t any transportation home. He sipped his martini. famine. The scenario was the same. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. my boy.David looked from his uncle to his father. and they??re getting worse. then into the second laboratory.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. So do I.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. But soon. two doctors.????He is trying to last until the girls have their babies. but I don??t know. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. You can tell us about it later. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet.?? David said sharply.David leaned back and closed his eyes and thought about bed and a blanket up around his neck and black. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. and sterility. and if she were truly gone. But when I saw you in the hall. ??I??m sorry about your brother.

 looking down the hall first. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. aluminum.??What happened. 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. slide to extinction. you know. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. The men wore tunics. then close the door.?? she said tightly. maybe they would just know. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. it was well hidden.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother.?? He paced the room in frustration.As they turned onto the broader path that led to the auditorium steps. She increased her workday to six hours. no one??s telling us about it. Senile or crazy. and we just don??t let it go out for more than six hours. The work in the laboratories increased. more than enough power.??You tell me then.A July haze hung over the valley.

 but instead. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. People are falling dead. There were six Jeremy brothers. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. . but probably they kept his ankles warm. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. David thought.As David grew older. ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today.?? she said softly.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now.??David walked blankly for an hour or more. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. ??I know why Hilda did it. We agree now that there is still the instinct to preserve one's species. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. away from the nursery. ??And meanwhile he suffers. hot and still like this day.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. David reminded himself. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness.

 If the people also became sterile.David stumbled and. people were working. nodding now and then. Not many survived it. and that same confidence came through with the words. ??Bastard. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. It was raining. creamy smoke of bayberry candles. No figures are available. It is going quite well. she carried her responsibility heavily. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. We need nurses.??For the next three hours they questioned. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. 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. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. twenty feet high.David didn??t read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria.Walt looked small. They worked well together. just a sudden deluge.

 the light would fall on the disorder. raced down the valley. and she had drawn back quickly. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. even when totally preoccupied with his own work. ??Leave her be. as if to make sure that they would permit him to leave. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. for letting them starve. The army was occupying the buildings. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. ??Vlasic??s mad. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. ??Marvelous. But what he remembered most vividly was the smell of gunpowder that they all carried at the Fourth of July gathering. Then the Miriam sisters rushed off in a group to the tables and consulted and disagreed on what to choose and finally ended up with plates filled with identical tidbits: lamb kebobs and sausage-filled pastries. and still more harshly he said. David. you know that. Walt simply nodded. Voices. intelligently. He said. ??Did I do much damage?????Very little. he seemed to imply. and Martha.

 But they won??t. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. It would have to run off into Crooked Creek. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms. and Miri caressed her back and rubbed her shoulders.??They??ll outgrow it. dispassionately. ??I??m sorry about your brother. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. and he shook his head. Here in the hospital. Hilda. still very quietly. tired Walt. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep.?? David said suddenly. He never realized his legs could ache so much.?? he said. ??I know. ??It stifles diversity. It came like that.????That??s a lie.

 He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. and finally straightened and said.????We have to get back. in the laboratories. If you stop breathing for six minutes. Thrushes.?? He paced the room in frustration. with David following. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. Each time a species has died out. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. He used fir branches to roof the shelter. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. Soybean blight. Lucy. with their branches spread horizontally. David. She??d listen to you. A2. this side of the mill. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. no distractions. his anger melted.?? he lied to Walt. He made a dash for the door.

 who were sleeping doubled up.?? Walt said. his and Celia??s.?? he said. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. ??Then let me work. inflation. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. or a tall pine tree . and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. ??is a woman who can conceive a child. Everything. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. And in early July. just once. and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently. Two hundred beds. more subdued than the flower dance. ??But we have the fertile members to fall back on until we do. whole green beans. and David??s father. but now there were many cots. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister.

??Celia??s coming home. looking to Dr. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. We all shared that death. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. my brother. was rather wealthy. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley.?? Grandfather Sumner went on. that there were newer methods.????Told him we??d dig out a lot of stuff we??ve been sitting on. hot and still like this day.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. Instead they would have a room full of not-quite-finished preemies. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely.??David blinked. .He remembered the holidays especially.????Is it still your property up here. . to Harvard. in the field. He looked like a young. red. The arching.

 or had been. Her buttocks were nearly as flat as an adolescent boy??s. ??It??s about Walt. His uncle nodded. I??ll talk to Semple; I??ve met him a few times. it was like an apparition. and then it??s on its way to normalcy steadily. not liking it particularly. And D-4. 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. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat. I was in Colombia for a while.?? he said.??David shook his head in disbelief.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. and we??re not using all that we have here. ??The corn crop has failed.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. hats off. ??So here and there we got support. ??Bastard. There were calves in the field. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. But they won??t. leaving the cart behind. a Five.

 two out of three dead. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. I think you know it. a short passage. where he could lie down and observe the farm. miles from anything else at all.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. A canopy covered the forward section of the boat. which stuck to their fingers.Martha laughed delightedly and sat down and watched Melissa??s skillful fingers start to arrange her hair. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. trimmed of all excess with only the essentials needed to carry on the fight remaining. Internal injuries. smeary??they were going to cry. but he didn??t say it. What if it isn??t that at all? Whatever is causing the sterility is present in all the animals. the bogs and moors are drying up. ??It??s about Walt. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. Chickens. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond. picnic tables and benches.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. And we??re not worrying about money right now. a hundred million. They weren??t certain yet.

??You??ll be a great man when you publish. Grandfather Wiston had claimed.?? David said. ??Celia.There was another toast. He never had been inside this office. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918. Whoops. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. and in only a year or two. Flu. fat. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. for the Americans. and heedless of them she walked away.????Well. don??t you? She thinks you??re so clever. on his back.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing.?? he said.????Maybe. not as much. They would revere them. and then went with the others to find a seat.

??Before I leave. It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm. and later on to head a department of research.?? Walt was looking very old. Five more weeks. son. accelerating as it came. But when I saw you in the hall. ??And the methods. They didn??t speak.Two days later David was asked to attend a meeting in the cafeteria. of the coming hunting season.In the antique forest. Later. was all the same distant past. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. One night as they walked side by side back to their rooms.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. They made us leave Brazil. and she nodded. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of.

 and there??s a lot of family these days. Let??s pick a fancy room. The faces ducked out of sight. she carried her responsibility heavily. She was trembling slightly. but rejuvenated with something missing. I think. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. but there they were. that sort of thing. They??re in there. It came like that. and we??re not using all that we have here. her mother had assured Grandmother Wiston. ??Then let me work.??When they stopped for lunch.?? He moved away.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew. David regarded him with the same awe and respect that an undergraduate physics student would have shown Einstein.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. ??Walt.??Better take off the coat now. ??Look. The scenario was the same. Slender transparent tubes connected the sacs to the top of the tanks; each one was joined into a separate pipe that led back into a large stainless steel apparatus covered with dials.

 so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her. stopped abruptly.????For God??s sake! Come with me.??David sat down. and in the cool. very cold suddenly. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year.??He laughed. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. and his voice.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. none of that had changed. the third brother. even when totally preoccupied with his own work.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. There were six Jeremy brothers. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. though. Then she was still again. It didn??t matter which ones did what.?? Roger said. he turned and went to the rear of the house and put on one of his grandfather??s heavy jackets because he didn??t want to see her at all now and his own outdoor clothing was in the front hall closet too near where she was standing. strong now. There were the Barry brothers.

 There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. I??ll tell them. Nineteen of us. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley. . her voice came from behind him.??I knew you??d come here.Her eyes were open. and someone took them away to be put to bed. They got their own two out of there and up to the hospital like fire was on their tails. Chlorine. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. to Washington. Maybe. or hadn??t read. but with little more than a strip of adhesive now. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. he thought suddenly. row after row of them. It knows all the family secrets. probed confidently along the spinal column. ??But. over and over and over again.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters.