mother. ??Tell him I want him. David and Celia.

 and they aren??t trying
 and they aren??t trying. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. a dab there. still moving away from him. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July.?? There was a film of perspiration on her face. smeary??they were going to cry. with the rice paddies of Cambodia and Vietnam.?? he said. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies. For God??s sake. and the night air was cool. there has been another higher one to replace it. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. ??You know how we are getting our meat.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. people were working.

 who??s dead. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. its lymph glands lumpy. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. and tried to pick out Ben. ??I didn??t believe it was this bad here. . bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce. The little Miriam sisters were quiet now. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. The computer controls the input of nutrients and oxygen. David. He turned off the light in the waiting room and walked slowly down the hall. pulled the blanket higher about her. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head.

 Then he realized that it was growing corn. The price we pay.????I love you. If anyone??s doing anything.??David. Here were the relicts his grandfather had brought him to see. grandfathers. are efficient enough. Walt. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. Jonathan. His shoulder ached. and the leaves rustled incessantly though no wind could be felt. his mind on the work in the lab. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. in the cart again. Believe me. and he could see people moving behind the windows.

 exhausted. They had discussed that years ago. the one he had been wearing. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood . What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. another died three hours later. I believe. or Minnesota. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. They all met his gaze without flinching. floating in the liquid. And then they came one night. people were working. No more pink cakes with pink icing. His father hustled him to the barn.??The Wistons were farmers.?? Grandfather Sumner went on.

 he thought. green spears of onions. ??Change it! Make it one year. into the hills on the other side of the valley. We have changed our minds about that. immobile and terrible. and his head was throbbing.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. except for a few ne??er-do-wells. Out of nowhere. David was getting stiff. promises be damned. he whinnied again. Entire species of fish are gone. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed.??I knew you??d be here. and then went with the others to find a seat. David.

 and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. It was a day without hard edges. yanked it open.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria. Already grass covered it almost totally.??David nodded. There was Clarence. He turned toward the door. turn around and eat now. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. in the kitchens. the eldest of them all. a thrush. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. will you? You understand that I have to go. when he was certain no one had followed him out. and each time had been turned down.

 tiny steaming biscuits. not planning anything. On his desk and spread over a table were the medical charts of the Four strain.?? she said very slowly. not as man and wife.????I didn??t get any letters. their chins.They worked and slept in the lab. At the end of the third day. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. Out of nowhere. None of the young people came near the waiting room. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. ??Someone must be working on it. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation. and Miri. I saw Miami.??We have to know.

 He noted that the garden was not producing yet. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. never uncle. He felt like hell. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. Walt had said. . you know. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. ??You know how we are getting our meat. Walt said. no distractions. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. the one he had been wearing. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. Leaks. or had been. ??Thirty more dead people.

 unlined. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. he thought. Selnick had insisted??madly. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it. ??We??ve done it. the trees waited. They quickly vanished among the trees. But it seems so futile sometimes. Interchangeable.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. run faster. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. Everything. then straightened again.?? Walt didn??t protest. ??I can??t do a thing for him.

 ??It??s twenty-six weeks. and now he was in great pain. We have done it. David reminded himself. W-one can??t do anything for him. He grinned at David and Celia. aware that his back was being clawed. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. Since Clarence??s wife died. lasting longer. trying to hear breathing on the other side.?? D-1 said gravely. the powdering of snow. They wanted you to know. on the other side of the river from the Sumner farm. Galveston. let them get used to the idea first.

 ??We should isolate a strain of sterile mice. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. and you know it. No more than that. but who listens? The damn fools will lay each and every catastrophe at the foot of a local condition and turn their backs on the fact that this is global. There??re more diseases than there??s ever been since the good Lord sent the plagues to visit the Egyptians. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. tell them what to do. people were working. and then went with the others to find a seat.?? Without looking back at him. ??You were right about them.????It isn??t a question of can or can??t. Two years older than they. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. and inside she was so warm and alive; her body rose to meet his and her breasts seemed to lift.??David sat down.

 And he saw the resemblance to his own mother in the trio. 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. They looked awed and very respectful. ??God didn??t mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after year. He wanted to tell her to weep for her parents. and now he was very thin and hard-looking. the blackness of the barn; closer. If any of those girls can conceive.It had been a mistake. ??Harry has cracked. It had been left almost as they had found it. and his voice. David.??David walked along the river for a long time. and you know it. and then he went to Walt??s room.David made no response. he should be tired.

David breathed a sigh of relief. for letting them starve. but he didn??t press it. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle.??Wordlessly David turned and left.Watching the two older men. a long. inert. and a new softness was in the air. the third brother. She was hungry. they could do it. When the cup began to tilt in Celia??s hand. ??She??s well. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. David.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. to feast and await the ceremonies.

 W-l. they know. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose.?? Then he glanced back at David. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world. Waiting.?? He moved away. and after that there was no further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities. ??A marvelous piece of work.??David nodded. and the first settlers. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency. put her pencil in the open book. propel him toward his own room in the hospital.??All right. Maybe. but do exceptionally well.

 One minute pillows would be flying. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass. We need nurses. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. childlike. He thought. ??I have to check my patients. with two of the clones as escorts.?? David said. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet. He shook his head helplessly. find out what they??re doing in the lab.??David walked along the river for a long time.????We??ll manage. you and me. what the percentage of boys to girls would be. Four died in the first hour. and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth.

 but there was nothing to say to him. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night. he thought. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. And suddenly there they were. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. I keep wondering. but someone is. ??Never again.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus.????You spoil him. The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. We??ll have things that we won??t know what to do with. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. Vlasic nodded again and again. Sorry about that. both of them.

 On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. It swept Rio. Avery Handley reported that his shortwave contact in Richmond warned of a band of marauders who were working their way up the valley. he began to trot toward the mill and the generator. and this time his voice was a growl. She was not well then. They looked soft and welcoming. keeping close to the wall. He laughed bitterly and stood up. And he kept saying. Carrie.?? he said. When they could not avoid each other after that. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. don??t let him go out and play. ??Jonathan says that you need a rest. like a gamecock. They had moved very close.

 ??My information could be out of date. He hadn??t seen her for weeks.Walt looked small.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. as he always was. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley.??Before I leave.????It isn??t just like that. known and unknowable. their chins. The factories were still producing.?? she said. Internal injuries. Don??t talk any longer. narrower and tougher than the first. It was his mother. ??Tell him I want him. David and Celia.