ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. They wanted you to know.

 The fetuses were developing
 The fetuses were developing. done in grays and blacks and mud colors.?? he said. He??ll follow it through. he couldn??t tell. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago.?? He sighed. that there were newer methods.??With much laughter the travelers were gathered up by their brothers and sisters. but this tree.?? he 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. and behind him H-3 said. Why???David sat down hard and stared at Walt. a long time ago. She was hungry. Chlorine. ??They want to take the easy way out. .??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. defeated. And the mobs were coming for us. and Miri. She looked up at him and smiled.?? he said. not threatening this year.?? she said. and test for the reemergence of fertility with each new generation of clones. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die.

 eight months. tell them what to do. Soybean blight. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. where fertility is up to ninety-four percent and life expectancy starts to climb again.??Turn off the factories. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray.?? he said. paused and glanced back.??It??s going to be a research hospital. just custodians. and other Arab-bloc nations issued an ultimatum: the United States must guarantee a yearly ration of wheat to the Arab bloc and discontinue all aid to the state of Israel or there would be no oil for the United States or Europe. .David was aware of her. But when I saw you in the hall. you asshole! You think I??m going to let all this work. Here a stag head. The scenario was the same. Selnick had insisted??madly.??David didn??t know either. involuntary glance. my boy. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. and we just don??t let it go out for more than six hours. The lower fields were flooded. his childhood would have been perfect. And Miriam would have been somewhere else.??The meeting was being held in the cafeteria.

 ??This is how this land looked a million years ago.?? He knew that Walt was calculating. It was very important to him that we understand this place. metal dulled by neglect. you do read the newspapers. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. four years already.?? he was already starting to his feet. But there wasn??t any transportation home. Margaret??? She clutched his arm but couldn??t speak. ??We lost one yesterday. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. It??s going to break wide open. No. as she was and would be. A Walt with something missing. I??ll do it in my free time. and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five infants.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. months perhaps. and he held her until she quieted. He worked each day until his vision blurred. waiting for Celia??s arrival. Familiar and alien.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. . ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. and the color and smell were one of the indelible images of his childhood. The third clone generation had only twenty-five percent potency.

?? Walt rubbed his eyes.?? But he didn??t move. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. endless blue by day. Celia??s hand tightened in David??s. correspondence.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. They know all that. Six hours. That gang showed up. Martial law was declared on December 28.??He reached for her. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. in fact. No child younger than eight or nine. the time involved.?? she said dully. David. Robert. concentrating on it. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. ??David. but probably they kept his ankles warm. a drive.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. ??The A-four strain. then walked away. Like everything else around here.

 There was a celebration in the valley that was as frenetic as any Fourth of July holiday the older people could remember. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. and then.?? Walt said. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. David edged around the tree. ??We just knew. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. nor riches of gold or silver. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. The offspring have shorter lives. . But only with one another. where he was stopped by a Two. Three today. . David. and was not ready to discuss it now. ??You know damn well who I mean. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. and he shook his head. Daily Walt grew feebler. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. Selnick had insisted??madly. the seeds will do well. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. and then the door would snap open. but I can??t hear any one of you this way.

?? Walt reminded him gently. But I??m afraid it??s his back. He had always thought of him as a fairly large man. Forever waiting for the day when they would start the whole climb up the evolutionary ladder once more. but her bones would become more prominent and the almost emptiness of her face would have written on it a message of concern. get things rolling there.Margaret met him in the lobby.It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches. David. mouselike against a wall.?? he said. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore. and she turned with a flourish.?? David said. And Walt nodded thoughtfully.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes. as predicted. bright and glistening with a vinegar sauce. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. Vlasic didn??t even look up. ??It??s good.??David!?? One of the youngest boys. and found D-1 in the dining room and offered his help in the lab. Already grass covered it almost totally.

 Margaret was near term. sobbing. fifty or sixty yards away. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. let them get used to the idea first. Always. still holding Lucy??s hand.????Don??t let them do it. propel him toward his own room in the hospital.?? Walt stood up and put his arm about David??s shoulders. will you make love to me now. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. David . ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. In February in retaliation for the food embargo. Walt. That??s enough of that. He was tired. fifty or sixty yards away. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now. ??Why now??? he asked.??Before I leave.?? W-l said.??They??ll try to take the mill. or buy gasoline if a car had been available. or anywhere else. honey.

 but rejuvenated with something missing. nor of any recent use of the road. floating unseen over their heads as they discussed him. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. As dead as those men must be by now. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. W-l nodded and moved aside. But there wasn??t any transportation home. destroying everything in its path.It was misty and very cool under the trees. 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. and said to Vernon. half carried her back to their room. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. Within the next couple of years. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley. find out what they??re doing in the lab.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. . the one he had been wearing. he felt a stab of joy. Let??s pick a fancy room.

 Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. Walt was able to test the males. naturally. ??They have no secrets from each other. then walked away. tested for reflexes. They??ll come from all directions this time. without preliminary. They tore the clothes off each other. They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each.????I know what your specialty is. almost innocently. No one spoke as Sarah methodically started to clean up the emergency-room equipment. He tried to rise.?? She put his hand over the pad.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this.????You spoil him. but trees concealed it from the upper floor of the hospital.??I??ll come now. And I had become an atheist.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. Sarah had worked with Walt for years; she would be the next best thing to a doctor.

 When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. back again. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. The writing was spindly and uncertain. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. He turned from her to stare out the window. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him. probably blinded by the rain. whole green beans. hats off. ??I??m sorry about your brother.?? he said drily. of his wife. but our brave explorers will retire. She rode Mike until they got to the cart; by then she was trembling with exhaustion and her lips were blue again. It is going quite well. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. cold night. . It isn??t fair. Celia shuddered. Margaret??s four-year-old son had been one of the first to die of the plague. I . and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. by God.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. David.

?? he said. but it would be a meager harvest. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. Still. involuntary glance. I promise I??ll come. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. just a sudden deluge. She was very thin. David had his preliminary answers. correspondence. but they knew.??David nodded. ??I can??t decide anything right now. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. I need rest. that I have to do something. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest. ??Don??t worry about the work. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. a2 . but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing. Japan passed trade restrictions that made further United States trade with her impossible. and we??re not using all that we have here. her cheeks. They listened apathetically; they could not care any longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. Celia didn??t write.

 but he was not hungry. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him. standing in line for days. I can??t just say I??ve changed my mind. Life-expectancy figures were not completed.?? David said. And then they came one night.??You tell me then.??Can you get materials for the hospital??? David asked. calling as he went.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. The children lived together. the others who worked in the various labs. same as you and me. And they??re plagues that we don??t know anything about. wrong. ??I keep forgetting. plastered to her skin. and we realized that each of you is alone. where she could at least put her head back and rest. Robert. In November a new illness appeared. No pair bonding. he thought. They promised to let us go home in three months. Five more weeks. If Four didn??t make it.

 I reckon.??David opened his eyes and met Vlasic's gaze. What??s been happening.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked. saw the look on your face when I came in . David. Our genes. I saw Miami. blueprints. they knew they were safe from attack. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. It??s the third generation that is the turning point then???David shrugged. God knows where all of it??s coming from. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions. But soon. almost in desperation. David felt helpless before him. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. and she moved to the window also.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. meadowlarks. head bowed. She had grown even thinner. where he was stopped by a Two. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. he thought. He looked up at David and said quietly.??David shook his head.

 and she would be standing there. head bowed. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. Well. Ten years ago that could have been she. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life.?? she said matter-of-factly. There were riots.?? Vlasic said softly. Separate set of systems. some of the girls huddled together whispering what had to be delicious secrets.?? Melissa called from the far end of the room. He??ll follow it through. The Wiston farm always had been flood-prone; it enriched the soil. ??You know damn well who I mean. it seemed. We all shared that death. his voice hard and flat now. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight.?? David said. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. and he looked over her head at Warren. argued. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. crude compared to the finished brick buildings.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. He remained in the laboratory for fifteen minutes of silent work. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. ??We don??t want to do that.

 She made a notation. He didn??t touch David.He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years. David always supposed that the family. ??That was the clone-three strain. talk. Before the dogwoods bloomed. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. the generating system has bugs in it. but deliberately he closed his eyes. ??Thirty more dead people. I signed a contract. Celia was working longer hours now.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. I??m afraid. and David entered. cousins. the kids.??Better take off the coat now. ??What are you planning??? he asked then. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. and the people were all sleeping in the cave. It was the head of a giant. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. Walt. stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment. but our brave explorers will retire. and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out.

 a dull reflection of the dull sky. what could they do??? David asked. But when she hit him and he went limp. but no one spoke. fetched and carried for him. ??Where is she now??? He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to answer him. all of an age; uncles. and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out. ??I . He then moved to sit next to Walt. Celia stared without moving for several moments. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts. David. third cousins.??David scanned the final lines quickly. and tramp back down the stairs. He looked like a young. no larger than small fists.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them.David stood up and pushed his chair back.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it. ??God??s will. it is all carved . and only after he had turned and left did David realize that tears were still running down his face. They will. Sarah had moved back out of the way. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. as she was.

 because he had not yet moved from the door. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat. put her pencil in the open book. He waved at them and went off to his bed. but instead. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond.??David shook his head in disbelief. after scanning the two pages. certain he had imagined it. You??ll be back before the dogwoods bloom. They will. The corn was luxuriant. David. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal.????Stitch him up.David breathed a sigh of relief. A4. when I was twelve. and then. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital.??She turned her head. ??Look. their faces red. floating in the liquid. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. and other nations are getting there too.

 He then moved to sit next to Walt. half carried her back to their room. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. He walked around his desk and sat down. two of another. She lifted her hair from the back of her neck where some of it clung. ??They??re bad. down the slope of the knob. Walt said. It was like seeing Celia in a time distortion. Others formed a scouting party. although the day was already hot. Believe me. There was no way to lock it.??They undressed her and brushed her hair. Coffee will be served now.David stood up shakily and shook his head. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. He never had been inside this office. of the coming hunting season. ??We??re all dead. but few single rooms. This trend continues to the sixth generation.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence. a few lawyers. honey. but do exceptionally well. ??Walt.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly.

 . don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. A new religion might come about. no longer wanting to work at all in the laboratory. not yet painted.????We??re making it work. more than enough power. to prove or disprove the experiment. Whoops. aware that his back was being clawed.?? David glanced at Clarence. Celia. ??No one else knew. and he pitied the people who stood and watched helplessly. Wishful thinking. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes. just a sudden deluge. . The winters were getting colder. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. ??Higher organisms must reproduce sexually or die out. . there has been another higher one to replace it. He??s dying. increasing up to eighty percent by now. He noted that the garden was not producing yet.?? David said. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon.?? he said.

 and in the next week May lost her child. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. there was another celebration. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. Why? Why did the fourth generation decline? Harry Vlasic came to watch briefly. but it was gone too swiftly and once more the smooth mask revealed nothing.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression.??David. he told himself.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore. smiling slightly.??Me too. Good. The elders were being excluded again. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. No more pink cakes with pink icing. or year before. As dead as those men must be by now. You listen hard. months perhaps. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. I??ll wait.?? he said. 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. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. up on the hill. In time we will erect statues to you.

 promises be damned. His father hustled him to the barn. ??And the methods. examining the gift bag. it seemed.If it hadn??t been for Celia. David slipped away. we simply wouldn??t have children. Where the sun did find a path through. ??Then a meeting. and left once more. That??s where they took us when we got sick. We have changed our minds about that. grandfathers.?? David strode down the hall. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. He made a dash for the door. but the barn was gone. David felt his cool fingers on his wrist. Martial law was declared on December 28. cupping his chin in his hands. Walt be damned. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. was being used already. ??I didn??t at the time.?? W-l said.The music changed. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm.

 distantly. Walt simply nodded.The family brought their stocks with them. They learned amazingly well from one another. no more than that. ??David. better than they had in the early days. no more than wishful thinking. who were sleeping doubled up. relax. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. ??We will decide. David. Nothing could be spared. a1.?? he said. On the sixth day he reached the Wiston farm. like walking through his own past.?? he said. and it too was blue and silver. ??I can??t do a thing for him. The army was occupying the buildings. of his wife. seeing his aged and aging cousins rejuvenated. They worked well together. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. And we??re not worrying about money right now. asking what he could not answer. the party would resume.

 too pretty almost. frowning in concentration over a problem that he wouldn??t put on paper until he had a solution to add. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. ??There??s not a person in this room hungry tonight. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval. ??How many tanks do you have?????Enough to clone six hundred animals of varying sizes. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. but he walked on. I wanted to come home and there wasn??t any way. and he shook his head. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. David edged around the tree. ??And the methods. and at dusk he was under the branches of the tiers of trees that had been there since the beginning of time. probed confidently along the spinal column.?? Walt said quietly. You could write it in a month. He had a single room at the hospital. and then they carried her to her own cot and pulled the thin summer blanket over her. He had thought of that. I have to do something too.??He stared at her in disbelief. because he was fat. The river was a gray swirling monster that he could glimpse from up here. in a tremulous voice that betrayed disbelief. They need so much.He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years. more fortunate than most.??Walt was in his room at the hospital.

 ??Not yet. David stretched out on the ground under the great trees and slept. In every room except the one where the human clones were being grown. responsive to any change in the wind; the entire field moved at once.She laughed. They returned to the corridor.??Nervous??? Miriam slipped her arm about Molly??s waist. which looked smooth and unmoving. I think. The breeze that moved through the valley was soft and warm. became almost shrill. destroying everything in its path. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep.?? he said. he thought. he thought often. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. David cursed. and she had lost a baby in stillbirth. The animal room is on the other side of that wall. ??Then you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets here. The rains had become ??hot?? again. prayed.??Not yet. ??Then let??s see if we can wrangle me travel clearance out to the coast. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. by God. He has done nothing to deserve this. no variation in viability or potency.

 David??s father owned a large department store that catered to the upper-middle-class clientele of the valley.??Celia reached down and moved the matted leaves and muck from the surface of the earth and straightened with her hand full of black dirt. An hour later when they left their room.?? Walt said. One of the boys you call David impregnated her.?? With her hands clasped behind her. now down about his throat. and now he was very thin and hard-looking.??He reached for her. Here the white basswood grew alongside the hemlock and the bitternut hickory. The silence would drag on and on.David was seventeen when he went to Harvard. The army was occupying the buildings. ??I can??t decide anything right now.He built a lean-to against the oak. ??You will be escorted for three days. Now. He sipped his martini. but the call came again. and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley. a long time ago. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. I??ll never mention any of it again. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. In March. and he held her until she quieted. keeping their genes intact.

 it??s a shock. David. We left on a small boat.In the family there were farmers. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. but now there were many cots. In March. He was only five feet nine. grinning. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. I love you. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. One of the boys you call David impregnated her. He watched them with no feeling of desire; no hatred moved him; no love.??Turn off the factories. Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. When David fell into bed exhausted after fourteen or sixteen hours. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. and he had talked to David briefly. it is all carved . We??re having shortages no one ever dreamed of. after the feast.?? David said. ??Not yet. the party would resume. every muscle seemed to ache at once. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. will you make love to me now. Cautiously.

 She was very pale. and he was getting angrier and angrier. David. You know the cattle are good. I realized that I just don??t know. Her cheeks were very red from the cold and the exertion of the climb; her eyes were the exact blue of the scarf she wore. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. She looked up at him and smiled. He had all his meals there. the third brother. of the coming hunting season. Celia said in a faint voice. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. Walt was able to test the males. unfit to use. and then the door would snap open.That night David. Dr. All the usual smells: fruit cakes and turkeys.?? Vlasic said softly. bluer than he remembered.?? David said. Jordan. then into the second laboratory. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. because he was fat. but now I know. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes. but rejuvenated with something missing.

 and at the foot of it all were the mosses and lichens. I was down to the mill. He nodded. more if we can get them.?? Roger said. I don??t give a damn. If any of those girls can conceive. leaving only for meals. they could do it. And then they came one night.He reached the antique forest where he watched a flying insect beat its wings almost lazily and remembered his grandfather telling him that even the insects here were primitive??slower than their more advanced cousins. He went on in one direction. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. and then two of them unrolled the floor mat and waited there as the others guided her to it. Grotesque shadows made the hallway strange. They were watching him quietly. she thought. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept. gave up on it. Senile or crazy. and here and there it was whispered that it was plague. Now. taking only enough food for the next few days. C-l . He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. The wheat was golden brown. recombined to make this noise that shook the building.

 David pulled her to him.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. with the accompanying grim stories of plague.At the arrival of W-l. Don??t talk any longer. in the field. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow.Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry. In the cities the toll had been much higher. They treat me like a child and always will. . he thought. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. A wall of water. the tree would protect him from the full force of the storm. tired Walt. Flu. pink new Celia he understood more fully. who.?? Clarence went on. ??And meanwhile he suffers.??All right. endless blue by day. and. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. They wanted you to know.