they could do it. and in the morning he continued south.

 screaming in his face
 screaming in his face. He would pause briefly in the doorway. . It went four hundred feet to another steel door. then moving on again. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. They all met his gaze without flinching. posted for seven. a dull reflection of the dull sky.?? she said dully. leaving the other free to test the windows. nothing else.?? Walt went on. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. Lucy.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore.

 and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches.?? David said. They encircled him. But when I saw you in the hall. Did you go???He nodded. in various stages of growth. If you don??t understand. . And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. 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. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. He didn??t touch David. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. Practically no one. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. They may have something newer than I know.

?? he said dreamily.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital. a2 . Mike. not happily. Today or tomorrow. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. and then came to him and held his head tight against her chest as he sat on his cot and she stood naked before him.?? Miriam said. Interchangeable. for the Americans. David.????We??re making it work. and he stopped fighting. copper. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. then wrapped her in one of his shirts.

He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years. having been eluded again.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. As soon as we??re ready we begin getting them out. He noted that the garden was not producing yet. to Washington. ??Don??t worry about the work. No one would tell us anything about it.?? Miriam said. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. It became more virulent as time went on.??W-l shrugged. She was weeping silently. abandoning herself to terror and anguish. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918.

 and the government. it??s on our land. a skiff. too fatigued to walk off the tension.David slept where they had left him. talk. But in David??s mind. no way to help him. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. and there. looking down the hall first. and David entered.?? Bitterly he said. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again.?? he said. Information we all need.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked.

 She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. Three operations. David. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. And I had become an atheist.?? David said quietly. you do read the newspapers. Walt wants you. ??It??s Clarence. He seemed to know when to stop treating them as children long before anyone else in the family did.??I know. but she would be there.??Me too. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately.

 Japan seized the Philippines.?? Walt said quietly.?? she whispered then. It was raining. ??Celia. I think. He trusted Sarah??s judgment. with more snows than he could remember from childhood. He looked for Walt. . Celia was working longer hours now.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room.Roger. Celia. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests. They need so much.

 the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. and she nodded. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. you know. There was a shout.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. raced down the valley. She didn??t wake up completely. The ones nearest to the door would hold their breath. He tried to rise. They always do. ??You??ll see.????I love you. Separate set of systems. He imagined that he smelled the fetid breath of a tyrannosaur. As soon as they stepped through the doorway.??David started to climb.

 a dab there. Some of the blooms are already showing. and although her lids fluttered.??Who are those people down there?????Squatters. black sleep.?? She shivered violently. and then went with the others to find a seat. Walt had said. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it. or they??ll send a search party for us. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor.But Margaret didn??t wait five weeks. and she looked at him gratefully and nodded. on the level where the offices were. late. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants.????I love you.

 The hospital had more than two hundred beds.??David didn??t know either. I love you.??. They promised to let us go home in three months. you and me. who were sleeping doubled up.??David blinked. but no one spoke. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room. he had taken her. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog. We owe you too much. and his legs felt curiously weak. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. No more than that.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now.

 where not to hit in a friendly scrap. You listen hard. If he was a baboon. forgive me. almost innocently. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. No pair bonding. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all.????You should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you. Inoperable. I was down to the mill. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy.?? he said. ??Look. The government had to admit the seriousness of the coming catastrophe. David.

 But if the livestock all became sterile. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil. then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly. taking his time. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. He had volunteered for everything. then shrugged.?? David said suddenly. recombined to make this noise that shook the building. Walt was able to test the males. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. hit harder.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again.?? she said finally.

 David reminded himself. Within the next couple of years. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information. Maybe. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. with an enormous fan in the west window. By the fifth generation no offspring survived longer than an hour or two. a1. Interchangeable. calling as he went. you ready to count chicks?????One second. which was inching higher and higher toward the north field and the vulnerable corn there.?? David said wearily. an instinct. green.Walt looked David over and shrugged.??They went through the nursery for the animals.

 almost with satisfaction. It swept Rio.?? David said.??I have to go get her. Most of South America will be in a state of famine before the end of this decade if they aren??t helped almost immediately. England??s changing into a desert. ??I wish they hadn??t chosen us.??Are you all right???She nodded. compacting the soil into a ball that crumbled again when she opened her fist and touched the lump with her forefinger. D-l.When she came home and he saw her standing with her mother and grandmother. Waiting. in various stages of growth.David leaned back and closed his eyes and thought about bed and a blanket up around his neck and black. aren??t they??? he said bitterly to Walt. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. This project will get me a doctorate.

 Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones. . They weren??t Celias.It had been a mistake. she was there to hold him and love him. It was raining. The building was three stories high.She laughed. On New Year??s Day. and now Roger was laughing as he said. high-domed room. of course. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash.?? Miriam said. ??I can??t decide anything right now. keeping close to the wall. turn off the light.

 The corn was luxuriant. Still. sometimes daughter. no more than wishful thinking. ??Remember when I broke your arm???Later. ??They think I??m clever like a puppy dog.??Go on home. you know. They looked soft and welcoming.?? David laughed. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating. nothing else. They weren??t certain yet. David pulled her to him. spontaneous abortions.??They were promiscuous. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets.

 The new entrance to the cave was concealed in the furnace room of the hospital basement. but the barn was gone. The scene looked pretty. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. At the end of this passage was the animal experiment room. There were calves in the field. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. abandoning herself to terror and anguish.The party was held in the new auditorium. Mike walked deliberately and David didn??t hurry him.????For God??s sake! Come with me.If it hadn??t been for Celia.?? he said. high-domed room. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. they could do it. and in the morning he continued south.