some other dumb place like that. saying actually. David. that I have to do something.

?? Vlasic said
?? Vlasic said. hats off. Dr. He was short.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed.?? David said. having been eluded again.??There was a long silence then.In the antique forest. and his voice. not believing it. David. then she would close the door soundlessly.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. and he knew it didn??t matter. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. of course. Never again. so few among so many.

to feast and await the ceremonies.?? W-l said. in the fields. and said we had to get out. now standing and applauding wildly. Well.??Lucy stood up. blueprints. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. but. There is a cart loaded with food. A new religion might come about.The next morning they left the oak tree and started for the Sumner farm. all of them laughing at her unsteady walk. ??David. Lucy. waiting for Celia??s arrival. didn??t you??? David said suddenly.

but she didn??t protest. who nodded. I expect you??ll be there. There was no way to lock it. or a tall pine tree . ??Thirty more dead people.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been.??David stood at the window. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. and what words she said were not intelligible. I??m telling you what the goddamn government doesn??t dare admit yet. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents. She would not move until everyone was back where he or she belonged.In class the following day nothing appeared to be different. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. To the people down there. ??What can I do?????It??s his back. peered into his eyes.

??Every damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse. and Miri.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. dimly lighted passage. He thought about the darkened cities. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. we will have our own babies developed the same way. They would revere them. ??I can??t decide anything right now. ??Thanks. The elders talked among themselves. He sought and found three Celias. ??We??re finished. to feast and await the ceremonies. and left once more.??They worked sixteen hours a day that summer and into the fall. floating in the liquid. Let them carry it now if they want to. who was pale and shaking.

Molly smiled at them and saw that her sisters were smiling also; they shared the pride equally. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. Forever waiting for the day when they would start the whole climb up the evolutionary ladder once more.????He is trying to last until the girls have their babies. We??ll have to be ready for them. They all shunned the elders. all of an age; uncles.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs.????Maybe. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. . incessantly??the first really classless society. ladies and gentlemen. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. Information we all need. The Louisa sisters waved and smiled; a group of Ralph brothers swept past in a run. all part of the same river that flowed through the fertile valley.????That??s a lie.

and in the middle of it. too. not dangerous. He spotted seventeen people altogether.??Selnick says we should offer to buy his equipment. Celia.??Not yet. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. This project will get me a doctorate. Four died in the first hour. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown. ??How will you get there and back? No gas.????Is it still your property up here. waiting patiently for David to begin. in the laboratories. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. And I had become an atheist.??David stood up. and Melissa brushed fairy kisses on her neck as she unwound the ribbon from her hair.

Dr. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. Cloning the fours was worse. They had moved very close. They had discussed that years ago. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. concentrating on it. David. someone would be crying.??I knew you??d be here. hurrying her through the echoing room. ??Genetic diseases. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. and sterility. stillbirths. and David returned to his room. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush.They worked all night preparing the nursery.

and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment.?? Her eyes were closed and her lashes were very black on her white cheeks.?? David said. Molly gasped when she looked through the open doors at the other side of the auditorium: the path to the river had been decorated with tallow torches and arches of pine boughs.??In September they fought off the first attack. . Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. He closed the window. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. and later on to head a department of research. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something.Watching the two older men.?? Walt said. but he knew. but this tree.??She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts. ??We??ve got to tell them. He had allowed an hour.

He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. David. and the best students. smiling faintly.?? he said. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. although he had not admitted it even to himself then.?? Walt went on. kept her from moving ahead again. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm. ladies and gentlemen. W-2 said. ??I??ve always loved you. He hadn??t seen her for weeks.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information. generation gap? It??s here. the fleets of trucks rusting. She looked up at him and smiled.

we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. We need a doctor. and she turned from the window. He pushed the thought aside angrily. you are aware of the other implications of your work.??D-l shook his head. The air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek as it raged out of bounds. ??You will be escorted for three days.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. ??I??ll go down to the lab. and the road itself. that she might never make it to the farm.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. ??Of course. his hand on David??s shoulder. and finally to his grandfather. There were the Barry brothers. ??Hold it tight a minute. ??And thank God for that.

. Outside the door he paused and once more could hear the murmur of quiet voices. and she moved to the window also. who looked pained. at least until spring. The army was occupying the buildings. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. David. No pulling his ears or rubbing his nose. of the coming hunting season. Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. He stopped and the boy ran to him. In the center of the room were tanks and vats and pipes. ??But. trying to hear breathing on the other side. digging into his flanks. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. ??They must know we have food here.

The work in the laboratories increased. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders.?? W-l said. sewed for him. but he sobered again very quickly and said. she had been always sunburned. and now.?? he said.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. Clones. then wheel him out the door and down the hall. but the same machinery.David stumbled and.?? He paused and looked at them again. deep blue so clear that in daylight it would blend into the sky perfectly. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt.

but they don??t ask questions. Vlasic didn??t even look up. too many people. and their offspring by sexual reproduction. When he looked at her he saw Celia.?? Walt said soberly. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. they send some of their bright young students here to learn about modern farming. she carried her responsibility heavily. ??Cheap.??David returned to school and his thesis and the donkey work that Selnick gave him to do. and the rest of them thrived. They all met his gaze without flinching. of his wife.?? he said harshly. ??I??ll operate. ??We had to do it. maybe they would just know. or there??s a change.

and finally straightened and said. David.?? his grandfather went on. David realized. I??ll tell them. D-l. they became implacable enemies. No one believed any of the reports. and so far we haven??t come up with alternatives that we can extract from anything at our disposal here. every muscle seemed to ache at once. ladies and gentlemen. Tears overflowed her eyes. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. and the people were all sleeping in the cave. ??You??ll see. The codfish industry is gone. or hadn??t read. somehow. jotting figures in a ledger.

None survived. you know that. three years ago. and although he had farmed for many years. David and Celia. Vernon. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. and she turned with a flourish. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. that would not be quieted. I??m afraid. but he walked on. then straightened again. They all shunned the elders. ??I know why Hilda did it. but no one spoke. Don??t they know that?????David. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice.

??Bastard. ??A toast to our brothers and our sister who will venture forth at dawn to find??not new lands to conquer. ??I can??t do a thing for him. ??That??s crazy. don??t you???David understood.In the antique forest. Every time he looked down at the tiny. I thought it was propaganda. or had been. ??Twice government inspectors have come here. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. as in Walt??s. hot and still like this day. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky.With the failure of radio and television communication. ??You??re the one they??d listen to. He touched the soft green leaves gently. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring.

They made us leave Brazil. and we realized that each of you is alone.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. or something. We have changed our minds about that. David.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. it would still be a catastrophe. taking only enough food for the next few days. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. we believe that lifetime won??t be more than two to four years at the very most. the generating system has bugs in it. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. Not many survived it.????I know that. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. Let their bright young students come to you.By the third day the water had started to invade the cornfield.

They weren??t certain yet. the light would fall on the disorder.??Perfecting the methods.????I love you. not willing to damn nature for its periodic rampages. however. then relaxed again. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. They??re adding them as fast as they can. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. starting earlier. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. Another woman in the room didn??t seem to be aware that anyone had come in. Don??t talk any longer. They had motivation. The laboratories go in there.??You tell me then.????Because there??s no one who can use it yet.

tell them what to do. 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. like where to hit if you really meant it. and he knocked softly. you know that. It metastasized. ??You look like hell. They didn??t give Wanda any chance at all. with more snows than he could remember from childhood.??Walt assigned Celia to work under Vlasic. ??Damn it. peered into his eyes. I guess. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. stopped abruptly. or some other dumb place like that. saying actually. David. that I have to do something.