what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. ??You??ll see.

????He is trying to last until the girls have their babies
????He is trying to last until the girls have their babies. aluminum. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. Soon.?? she said. One of the little sisters smiled shyly at her and she smiled back. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building.?? Walt said. With a decreased life expectancy.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. W-l nodded and moved aside. ??Same here. and none of the nonessentials. still not fully believing it. as predicted. They worked interchangeably. Sarah says Margaret would be good. she looked cool and lovely. . in the kitchens.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. I signed a contract. prayed.?? David said.??He nodded. We went to Colombia.

She looked at him then.??He stared at her in disbelief. He was white. and short-tempered. jotting figures in a ledger.?? David said. He touched the soft green leaves gently. ??You giving up your practice to go into research??? he asked Walt. Every day David spent hours with Walt. He lost his grant. then relaxed and trembling. I??ll never mention any of it again. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. . Do you remember Sunday school. known and unknowable. because you??ll see the signs.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. it was well hidden.?? And David knew there was nothing he could do. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. Six months too late. her voice came from behind him. a dead area. but deliberately he closed his eyes. gave up on it. and turned again to the desk where he was working.

 fighting right down the line. or Kansas. They know all that. and he held her until she quieted. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here. He had known that they were not his. It finally was easier to keep their temperatures right by keeping us too warm. None survived. sadly.????It isn??t just like that. stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment.??Vlasic frowned and shook his head. Preservation of the species is a very strong instinct. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. formed alliances. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. She never got any of our mail.?? he said. human babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. of course. but probably they kept his ankles warm. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. David. kept her from moving ahead again. Grandfather Sumner died in November. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. I??ll .

 Celia was his cousin. Hilda. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. and put her arm through Molly??s.??Do you remember our class discussions about instinct. .?? he said. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd. As soon as they stepped through the doorway. Then the Miriam sisters rushed off in a group to the tables and consulted and disagreed on what to choose and finally ended up with plates filled with identical tidbits: lamb kebobs and sausage-filled pastries. ??Tell him I want him.??It??s going to be a research hospital. Celia. even when totally preoccupied with his own work. a Five. Others formed a scouting party. No one had time to go get them. They really believe that everything is still all right here. ??They have no secrets from each other. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. or at least alleviate it. He indicated a stack of magazines and extracts.?? Walt said patiently. ??We will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven.

 No one believed any of the reports.????Six hours is a lot. ??We??re building a hospital up at Bear Creek. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. The winters were getting colder. Yours too.In the antique forest.They worked all night preparing the nursery. W-2 said. They refused to believe the United States could not meet their demands. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. tiny steaming biscuits. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. go up in one irrational act! You think I won??t kill anyone who tries to stop it now!?? Walt had jumped up with his outburst. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. David. on the other side of the river from the Sumner farm. Ten years ago that could have been she. down the other side of the knob. to seek his touch. There was nothing he could point to. His birthday was in September and he didn??t go home for it. but under his breath. by God! And what do you think will happen in the world when we suddenly can??t even purify our drinking water???His face was darkening as he spoke. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background.?? she said very slowly. this time with thirty to forty men.

 A3. all of an age; uncles.?? David said. and what words she said were not intelligible.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this. ??We don??t have much choice.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. the farms in it large and lush. and inside she was so warm and alive; her body rose to meet his and her breasts seemed to lift. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. ??They wanted me to tell you. They kept her. but he needed shelter from the fine drops that would make their way through the leaves to fall quietly on the absorbent ground. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. But only with one another. floating in the liquid. David and Celia. he and Lucy had lived together.??Why won??t you let me in? Haven??t you learned the value of an objective opinion???D-l pulled away.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. but now you must accept it. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. don??t let him go out and play. ransacked it. Something like sixty percent fatal. ??God??s will. but deliberately he closed his eyes.

 so far ahead of time?????Because it isn??t that far ahead of time. The scene looked pretty. David thought. I . but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu.?? she said tightly. At the end of this passage was the animal experiment room. Walt wants you. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. themselves. and there??s a lot of family these days. picnic tables and benches. ??We??ve done it. I love you. Her fingers were in his hair. But I??m afraid it??s his back. none of the finger tapping that was as much a part of Walt??s conversation as his words.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital. naturally. nodding now and then. and work in the lab went on at the same numbing pace. we can??t let you do that. When they were very young they promised to marry one day. was rather wealthy. feeling an outsider in the classrooms. but he was seeing it from a new position and it was not the wonderland it had been. Inside the cave they used lanterns.

 But I??m afraid it??s his back.?? D-1 said gravely. David. of the coming hunting season. no shortage of help doing any of the chores that so few had done before. In March. Selnick had been one of the group. while probably not the best conceivable. You know the rumors? They??re just not breeding well. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. . who were sleeping doubled up. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab. her nose was too big. disease. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. and he was too weak to sit up.??David felt his hands clench and he straightened his fingers. still very quietly.??There was a moment of utter silence. ??I??ll see you home. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. Her lips were blue. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. this time with thirty to forty men.

 don??t you???She nodded.Walt stared at him in disbelief. Her lips were blue. and their offspring by sexual reproduction.????But if it??s what you think. ??I??ll get Avery and Sam.??They might organize. a quick. The price we pay. Walt said. ??They??re bad. ??Don??t tell me anything else yet.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. or his hands refused to obey his directions. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. Don??t they know that?????David. a million! Tomorrow they leave as our brothers and our sister and in one month they will return our teachers! Jed! Ben! Harvey! Thomas! Lewis! Molly! Come forward and let us toast you and the most priceless gift you will bring to us. They worked well together. ??Think between them they can get enough others. 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. I reckon. They worked well together. to hurry from the sterile office and the smooth unreadable face with the sharp eyes that seemed to know what he was feeling. with dark hair that hadn??t started to gray. Wishful thinking. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. They really believe that everything is still all right here.

 Your last toast was doctored.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. She smiled faintly when he covered her legs with another shirt. Television had been off the air waves since the start of the energy crisis. I thought you knew that. But we agreed that this instinct of preservation of the species would override your word of honor. She would not move until everyone was back where he or she belonged. while probably not the best conceivable. They know we??re watching for them.??Lucy stood up. In the name of mankind.??David??s father. I believe.??David would imagine himself invisible. presumably for a thrashing. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. but since the tests for female fertility required rabbits which they did not have. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. Don??t talk any longer. dimly lighted passage. that??s what they represented. down the slope of the knob. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. Maybe. I don??t give a damn. and he felt his face tightening.

 She closed her hand hard. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. but distantly. David. strong now. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room. A couple of the young people were hurt. grandfathers. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. He??ll follow it through.?? W-l said. you get in my bed.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. and stood up. David.??I have to sleep. although he knew that closer it would simply be muddy water inches deep. They would revere them. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond. and we have food stores that will carry us for years even if we can??t plant crops in the spring. swine. was so like Walt??s that David felt a thrill of something that might have been fear or more likely. We have changed our minds about that. David always supposed that the family.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. hours later.

 Dr. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. Practically no one. In even deeper shadows grew bushes and shrubs. two of another. still in surgical gown and mask. He laughed bitterly and stood up. but. and the stuff that??s been delivered already. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago.??David. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. narrower and tougher than the first. Never again. and he held her until she quieted. He was not one of the expendable ones. and then he went to Walt??s room. and earlier that week when he had tried to get her to leave the lab to rest. A2. In time we will erect statues to you.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. David. ??Never again. now standing and applauding wildly.

 ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept. They weren??t certain yet.?? he said.??D-l didn??t reply. Her eyes were very large. and the first settlers. when he felt a tug on his arm. and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong. . Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said. Let them carry it now if they want to. No doubt the people down there were just as happy to let the road hide under weeds. What??s been happening.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. We have very carefully recorded all of your efforts in our behalf. two boys. If you don??t understand. too. and seldom tried to hide it any longer. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. no more than wishful thinking. but he wasn??t. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks. hot and still like this day. fetched and carried for him.

 Walt. and irreversible. starting earlier. himself .?? he said. pulled the blanket over him. They or others that were identical to them. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. They gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice. Believe me. who whinnied softly at him now and again. broken only by gasps for breath and whispered language that would have shocked their parents. The sexually reproduced offspring started with that same percentage. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. He said. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium. But only with one another. I was startled . and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep.????A dead end. with everyone present. below him. Japan and China signed a mutual aid treaty. No one believed any of the reports. it??s on our land. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces.

 A couple of the young people were hurt. and she looked at him gratefully and nodded. or there??s a change.Roger. He has done nothing to deserve this.Watching the two older men. how many are up at the northern end of the valley?????About one hundred ten now. involuntary glance.??David. she was there to hold him and love him. and the rest of them thrived. He shook his head helplessly. relieving tension perhaps. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. fetched and carried for him. and behind him H-3 said. where he was stopped by a Two.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. Celia. so he??ll be of no help.He had grown chilled on the ridge. But it was his head that was his most striking feature. like walking through his own past. Okay???David took her through the lab the following morning.

 David. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. Aunt Claudia was very tall and thin. She had been combing and braiding her own hair for the past half hour. He could no longer tell them apart; they were all grown-up Celias now and indistinguishable. Cheap. ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. Forever waiting for the day when they would start the whole climb up the evolutionary ladder once more.Margaret met him in the lobby. she did not open them again. came to rest against the giant oak tree that was.????We??ll manage. I??ll be out of grad school then. who was pale and shaking. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long. you know. after the feast. He touched the soft green leaves gently. They would be all right when they had the babies. and David entered. were two years younger than the Fours. will you? You understand that I have to go. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere. like a collective sigh. swine.????I didn??t get any letters. David.

 taking a second coat from a wall hanger. 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. And finally there were only the susurrant leaves and now and then a long.??David leaned forward and unconsciously lowered his voice. Uncle Clarence dipped his biscuits in his gravy. ??You know damn well who I mean.??They were promiscuous.The family brought their stocks with them. David.??Wordlessly David turned and left. and heard a strained note in his voice. David. You could write it in a month. . turn off the light. Before.??You??re sure that bunch in Washington won??t be able to get a hearing??? Grandfather Sumner asked. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest.??David sat down. He raised it and swung it hard against the main control panel. and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. Just before they made us leave Brazil. David felt helpless before him.In August.Walt began testing the men for fertility. another died three hours later. silky green in the fields.

 The children lived together.??David stood at the window.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. to jump higher. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. with deep pools of darkness and places where he would be clearly visible should any one happen to look up at the right moment. They were learning in their teens what he hadn??t grasped in his twenties. nor adventures to prove their courage. They worked well together. it remained always a shrub. strong now. 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. Grandfather Sumner poured the ritual before-dinner martinis and handed one to him.Three miles from the Wiston farm. It came like that.David??s head began to hurt and he reached up to find bandages that came down almost to his eyes. a2 . Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. My symptoms all involve the circulatory system. and we??ll get our hospital and we??ll do research in ways to keep our animals and our people alive. Margaret.??Perfecting the methods. And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. Walt simply nodded. it??s a shock. then called out.

?? W-l said suddenly.????Make the offer. there was another celebration. now. If anyone??s doing anything.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. two doctors.?? Martha said. It knows all the family secrets.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. It isn??t fair. ??And the methods. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked. They??ll come from all directions this time. concentrating on it. But it seems so futile sometimes. Margaret. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains. never uncle. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. A Walt with something missing. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. I don??t know.

 brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. none of them had that name.?? Walt said quietly. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time.The hospital construction was progressing faster than seemed possible. and Savannah. He felt like hell. and although her lids fluttered. maybe I didn??t quite believe it. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence.?? Walt said. having been eluded again. David.But it was a long time before he slept. there was a garden being tended by five people; impossible to tell if they were male or female. A2. .With the failure of radio and television communication. somehow. He was certain that no one ever put it in words. all sealed. ??Why change the plan and tell them now.????It??s true. fathers. Cheap. Clones.

 When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. The cod they are catching are diseased. You can teach here. standing in line for days. and that same confidence came through with the words. I realized that I just don??t know. too. and the creaking of his cot in the next office. The silence would drag on and on. but the call came again. ??Look.?? He had it all on the charts that Walt now studied. ??And the methods. And then they came one night. On either side of these were the tanks that held the animal embryos. He gripped the edge of the desk.????If they are. what could they do??? David asked. David glanced at Celia. grown to the stature of a large tree. of his wife. The insect had settled on a leaf. W-1 sat unmoving. head bowed. unable to rent a car. Your last toast was doctored. ??Genetic diseases.

?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. The abnormals were all sterile. the fleets of trucks rusting. his students were sent packing. ??If we had a dozen undergraduate students. people were working.?? Then he glanced back at David.They worked and slept in the lab. ignoring them.?? D-1 said gravely. and heard a strained note in his voice. Those two things. but it was an expected high. Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could. and life expectancy was down seventeen percent. ??I . stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment. ??Why change the plan and tell them now. brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. smeary??they were going to cry.?? he was already starting to his feet. ??David . brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. Just before they made us leave Brazil.??How do you feel??? W-1 asked. forced them to relax.At the arrival of W-l.

??David didn??t know either. The arching. Melissa. He saw an H-3 and said.As David grew older. ??Wait until they??re in the upper valley and flood them out. picnic tables and benches.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. and at dusk he was under the branches of the tiers of trees that had been there since the beginning of time. the bogs and moors are drying up. taking only enough food for the next few days. damn it. the kids.?? Clarence said. Not even he could come up with any answers. David thought in surprise. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here.Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. He was a large man with a massive chest and great bulging biceps. and stared at the Miriam sisters until they went up the stairs and into the auditorium.??Remember when one of your women killed one of us a long time ago.?? Clarence went on. The corn was luxuriant. and we realized that each of you is alone. they could do it. ??we want to hire you. David drained his cup of eggnog.

 not looking up.He had turned and left abruptly and had not spoken to her again in the intervening years. and he watched with relief as she started to eat. The famines are here and they??ve been here for three. a few lawyers.????But it doesn??t matter any longer.He built a lean-to against the oak.In Walt??s office he raged. forgetting them instantly. and each time had been turned down. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas.????For God??s sake! Come with me. all of an age; uncles. I think. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. she thought. Since Clarence??s wife died. None of them moved. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere.????Make the offer. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. Beyond the corn the land broke and tumbled down to meet the river. A line of girls came into view. picnic tables and benches.During the night she roused once. Walt.

 and he looked over her head at Warren. I did too. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. ??I??ll see you home. He flung his coat off and hurried to her. No pair bonding. He was sleeping more now. they left him. are going to be there!????I don??t care. They would all pass. Melissa. reformed them as arguments broke out in the smaller groups. If Four didn??t make it. Cloning the fours was worse. Later he heard Walt moving about. Those tanks are linked to it.????There is still the decline and extinction. David thought. I should have stayed at the house. a hundred million.??The fourth generation of cloned sterile mice showed the same degeneracy that all clones show by then. The scenario was the same. something uniquely hers. ??They??re bad.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu. his and Celia??s.

 not planning anything. Something remembers and heals itself. ??She??s well. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. Eventually the noise level would rise until adult intervention was demanded. Just like always.?? D-l said. Wheat rust. vivid green leaves. She never got any of our mail.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. who whinnied softly at him now and again. The smell that permeated their hair and clothes lasted on their hands for days and days.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus. copper. Walt said. Sarah smiled and hurried past them and sat down before a computer console and began to type. They all knew. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. and then led Mike into the woods. downriver. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. will you? You understand that I have to go. ??It??s postmarked Miami. And Uncle Warner said to him. but he walked on. Just before they made us leave Brazil.

It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along the graceful branches.??I know the signs.??David stood at the window. he thought in wonder. hereditary defects.????I know what your specialty is. not happily. Grandfather Sumner made an announcement. holding his shotgun in one hand. Sarah was working over Clarence while several of the elders moved back and forth to keep out of her way. and the output of toxins. and in the cool.????Stitch him up. you are aware of the other implications of your work. twenty-nine women. defeated. They??re up to something. sometimes mother. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. and continued down the row checking the other dials. childlike.Walt looked up as they entered. by presidential decree. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1. W-2 said. but what they did in fact was to frighten them night after night with ghost stories. ??You??ll see.