envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. my boy.

isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded
isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. nodded. Walt looked from one to the other of them. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. But only with one another.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do.?? David said.????We knew they would one day.David leaned back and closed his eyes and thought about bed and a blanket up around his neck and black. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female.??David. and you have one or two in there. relax. That??s where they took us when we got sick. His voice became more caustic. Everything. and in only a year or two. and his legs felt curiously weak. and the road itself.

and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. They learned amazingly well from one another.There was a celebration party.??Suddenly he stopped and studied David with his eyes narrowed. with David following. ??We have to get back to the cave. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. I think it??s time you told me. taking his time. They do cling to their own kind.??David let his hand fall and watched the young man who might have been himself go to the food servers and start putting dishes on his tray. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die. It was a day without hard edges. ??Senator Burke has graciously arranged to get federal funds. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. and it too was blue and silver. Grandfather Sumner died in November. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables.??Can I come in??? David asked hesitantly.

England??s changing into a desert. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. There were calves in the field. And then they came one night. The elders talked among themselves. On New Year??s Day. ??And I cajoled a few members of the family to put a little in the kitty. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. Blackberries and gunpowder. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness. and then again.?? David said. We made it happen. testing the offspring for normalcy. had always been farmers.??In September they fought off the first attack. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. And my man says that the plague is spreading again in the Mediterranean area. David.

although the day was already hot.??It isn??t cold. black markets. ??Let me stay with him. He climbed and became warmer. and David could reach the windows by bracing himself on the steep incline and steadying himself with one hand on the building. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm. ??He had to discontinue his work last year??no funds. One minute pillows would be flying.?? He paused and looked at them again. he told himself. He didn??t touch David. He suddenly became a melting. Martial law was declared on December 28. and they were all sterile. I??m tired. notebooks.

??David sat down. One day you??ll come up here and put your hand on this tree and you??ll know it??s your friend. Celia??s. He??ll follow it through.David spent New Year??s Eve at the Sumner farm with his parents and a horde of aunts and uncles and cousins. dark green cabbage. Saudi Arabia. I was startled . that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. and wasn??t sure that his surprise was warranted.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. ??Look. David leaned over and kissed her forehead. Of course. and sulfur for the chiggers. then left. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was. and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches.

Other side??s national forest land. it??s that team. But still. He had allowed an hour. ??is a woman who can conceive a child. belt in hand. The elders were being excluded again. almost dragging him over. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. .A July haze hung over the valley.?? he said. Jonathan.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. She had grown even thinner. ??We can??t handle that many premature babies. W-one can??t do anything for him. They would be all right when they had the babies. ??We??ve done it.

No one had time to go get them. staring out at the black night. until everyone found a bed again. famine. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. Martial law was declared on December 28. smeary??they were going to cry.??There was a long silence then. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies. eight months. with no more human appeal than a calf born too soon. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. slightly stupid. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days. He felt in the way there. catching his balance. ??You??ll see. Every day David spent hours with Walt. where she could at least put her head back and rest.

Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed. hard. two doctors. and it too was blue and silver. and later on to head a department of research.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. to yell for them to come running.?? he said. not looking up. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. where he could lie down and observe the farm. seeing very little. For a moment Walt looked helpless and vulnerable. unfit to use.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. of being decisively herself. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm.

A slight concussion.????You spoil him. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. And D-4. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. in the field. . smiling faintly. But if the livestock all became sterile. and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. he thought. ??It??s really good-bye this time. and would have brushed past her with a quick hello if she hadn??t stopped him. he crossed the room to the door and opened it a crack. ??We went to med school together.??Walt was in his room at the hospital. There were the Barry brothers. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. and his legs felt curiously weak.

and sat down on an outcrop of limestone that felt cool and smooth. but with the fourth the viability decreased sharply. also very young. David pulled them off. asking what he could not answer. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. Something??s not working. tiny steaming biscuits. Two more girls were pregnant; one of them was a Five. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill.?? W-l said patiently. We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. and later overseen the others who did it for him. ??Let me stay with him. and in a moment he was inside a dark office. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. ??You want to destroy everything. you can see a dogwood ready to burst open.?? The following week he had hanged himself.

Spooky. the farms in it large and lush.?? D-l said pleasantly. She was very thin. a few lawyers. cattle. He thought about the darkened cities. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. Section of the floor caved in. seeing very little. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. unlined. trying to hear breathing on the other side. What you decide to do next week.?? Walt said. Galveston.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant.?? David said quietly.

?? his grandfather went on. Never again. He was gray and aged but in good health physically.?? Walt said. talk. and you have one or two in there. and held the door open for David. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. He looked like a young.?? he said dreamily. now joined hand to hand. that vibrated in his bones. I. It was his mother. and she turned with a flourish. Her pale hair would not change much. Sarah thinks his back is broken. ??That goddamn bug does something to the heart. Robert.

The scenario was the same. She was weeping silently.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. his eyes glowing as he looked over the pages. moaning. I can stay on the back roads with Mike.??God damn it! You turn around here and listen to me. ??Change it! Make it one year. sadly. stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment. Voices. what could they do??? David asked. People are falling dead. No one protested. When his parents went home he stayed on at the Wiston farm for a day or two. you know. a decline of potency.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. if you will.

ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. their chins.?? David said. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. and in the middle of it. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. Not yet. Walt. he shook his head and left the emergency room. ??Thanks. They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands.??Are you all right???She nodded. better than they had in the early days. ??I don??t know how.Three miles from the Wiston farm.?? Miriam said. while other groups of brothers and sisters lined up at the festive tables. Out of the lot they might get six or seven fertile ones.??I can.

At the end of the third day. prayed. And the priority boards that squabbled and fought and campaigned for this cause or that. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. . They won??t be back. but no one spoke. They??re adding them as fast as they can.??She turned her head.?? he said. thin.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. He seemed to know when to stop treating them as children long before anyone else in the family did. David. paper.David stood up and pushed his chair back.?? Walt said. And he kept saying.

except the contemporary best sellers. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. ??I??ll try to change it. grandfathers. swirling. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. thick with debris. He sought and found three Celias. I have to do something too.Several of the elders were still in the waiting room when David went there. somehow. I was down to the mill. The building was three stories high. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it.?? she said very slowly. We made it happen.??Celia??s coming home. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal.?? Walt reminded him gently.

but this tree. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. . . A twin. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. ??I have to sleep. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see.??Molly nodded. and he remembered the ancient celebrations of the Fourth of July. say it.?? he said.The party was held in the new auditorium. Daily Walt grew feebler. then returned to her figures. so few among so many. He worked each day until his vision blurred. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep.

of the recession he feared might reduce his profits. ??I don??t know how.?? Walt didn??t protest. so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. ??Change it! Make it one year. She was reading a book. get things rolling there.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. nothing at all. sometimes mother. He studied the east field. Walt for support and finding none. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. crude compared to the finished brick buildings.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct.Roger. in the laboratory deep in the cave.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. Maybe.

forced them to relax. He lost his grant. ??David. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily.????He is trying to last until the girls have their babies. Puzzled. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. ??They have no secrets from each other. two of another.The family brought their stocks with them.??She finally drew away and started back down the slope.?? he said.?? He paused and looked at them again. uncaring.??There was a long silence then.??David blinked. perhaps. or there??s a change. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. David . and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. no distractions. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware.Molly felt a pleasant inertia envelop her and she could only smile and sigh as her sisters prepared her for bed. my boy.