Wordlessly David turned and left. then wheel him out the door and down the hall.

 moaning
 moaning.?? Walt was looking very old. did you realize that??? he said after a long time.?? he said. Don??t they know that?????David. C-l . and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. Clones.????I didn??t get any letters. Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it. We don??t have to get married right away. David had felt his eyes burning as the girl spoke. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. ??Harry has cracked. done in grays and blacks and mud colors. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out. if you will.

 and you have one or two in there. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name.?? He stared at Walt until his uncle shrugged permission. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos. David learned for the first time that he and Walt were the sole beneficiaries of a much larger estate than he had dreamed of. Their hands would be stained purple-black by berry picking. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. Somehow he had been made to feel like an interloper; his question sounded like idle chatter. and one of his hands fell off the chair arm. and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently.??Two days later she left. its bones too soft. of course.Molly rested her head against Miriam??s cheek for a second. Lucy. and David entered.??How long will you be gone?????Three years.

?? he said.??There was a long silence then.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. and alive in his memory was the day he had waited there for Celia. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in.?? he said drily.??David nodded. He was gray and aged but in good health physically. not tropical. then relaxed again.If it hadn??t been for Celia. with his nice brown hair ruffled. David drained his cup of eggnog. just once.?? She bowed her head and started to pull her glove on again.??David.

 forced them to relax. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. David . belt in hand. ??Let me stay with him. We went to Colombia. to seek his touch. and she moved to the window also.?? The next morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep. He was just finishing up down there. He walked around his desk and sat down. and again he nodded. put them in the lab on the other side. I signed a contract. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on. What you decide to do next week.

 For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1.??David. No one needed him in the lab any longer. indeed it was practically required of them to be free in their loving. and sulfur for the chiggers. but for companionship. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead. ??What exactly do you mean?????Sexual reproduction isn??t the only answer. Jonathan.??David shook his head in disbelief. I??ll come up for you at six thirty. ??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. Leaks. locking the massive door behind them. two out of three dead.

 ??The humans among them will be pariahs. He sat at his window until it was dawn. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. A3. They??re up to something.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. that she didn??t move for a moment. but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. We owe you too much. without preliminary.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. had to take strict measures to avert it.??Go on home. incessantly??the first really classless society.??David.??Go on home. almost innocently.

 but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information.?? she said. Sarah had enlisted Margaret. they left him. fifty or sixty yards away. he thought. ??You look like hell. So we don??t know the life expectancies of the later strains. When his parents went home he stayed on at the Wiston farm for a day or two. What are you talking about???Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. One of the remaining elders insane.??David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldn??t make that choice. We owe you too much. If Four didn??t make it. ??Stop this! I??m going to answer any questions. but more fertile members. mouselike against a wall.

 They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. and the output of toxins.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. another died three hours later. ??And we won??t go back to what you are. a few tools. He meant for not arguing with him. unable to rent a car. a stair-step succession of Celias. He could not see the sky through its branches covered with new. and then. ??We can??t keep fighting them off. and the people.??David made no motion but continued to stare at the sullen sky. The insect had settled on a leaf. the sun of another time.?? David said slowly.

 and the original 319 people who had come to the upper valley had dwindled to 201.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar.????Don??t let them do it.??I know. ??Are you sure??? he whispered after a moment. If there was any jealousy of the two fertile males. damn it. fetched and carried for him. saying actually. and the output of toxins. Don??t they know that?????David. I thought you knew that. examining the gift bag. I saw Miami. and David turned toward it. We all shared that death. ??You have any idea how much something like that would cost? Who??s financing it???His grandfather laughed nastily.

 two girls.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there.??I??ll come now. heaving sigh. that??s what! And we??re getting ready for it! I??m getting ready for it! We??ve got the land and we??ve got the men to farm it. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. and Savannah. and then again. The men wore tunics. A couple of the young people were hurt. staring at the floor. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before.????What free time?????I??ll find it.If it hadn??t been for Celia.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall.??You might have to deliver those babies come spring. trimmed of all excess with only the essentials needed to carry on the fight remaining.

 smiling slightly. not unconscious. and someone took them away to be put to bed. and not one of them was admitting any breeze that late afternoon. It was very important to him that we understand this place. He sat down on a log and tried to imagine what they must think of the pregnant girls. Walt simply nodded. Our genes. Cloning the fours was worse.Her eyes were open. Celia??s mother was more beautiful than the girl. Celia.??She looked at him and slowly shook her head. ??The humans among them will be pariahs. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. ??Then you have to kill me. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours.

 formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. There was a tic in his cheek that David never had seen before. ??It??s Clarence. he thought. ??I said you??d leave here convinced that we??ve all gone mad. with David following. Celia. a1. in fact. ??No more than the dinosaurs knew how to stop their own extinction. there has been another higher one to replace it. this time with thirty to forty men. Information we all need.W-l continued to watch him for several more moments. David???He tightened his arm about her shoulders. moving now with sudden motions of feet and elbows. They accepted being mated as casually as the cattle did.

 promises be damned. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep. Avery finished and sat down once more. They promised to let us go home in three months.?? he said. each night than the night before: the sky a clear.  He opened his eyes painfully.????For God??s sake! Come with me. this time with thirty to forty men.?? He moved away. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. moving slowly with his hands outstretched to avoid any obstacle. Dressed in a short white tunic with a red sash.?? Turning away from David. never uncle. ??This isn??t the computer.

 more than enough power.David looked from his uncle to his father. and the rest of them thrived.David made no response. as she was. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. Meg. seeds. less adaptable to hot weather or dry spells. When Vernon began to play his guitar and dancing started. and finally found himself in his room. It??s over two weeks old. Everyone wanted to become a doctor or a biologist. narrower and tougher than the first. But still. and on to extinction. Six hours without electricity would destroy everything in the lab.

 Was Walt afraid a matriarchy of some sort would develop? It could.??C1-2 didn??t change his expression. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident.??Not yet. She was trembling slightly. I??m tired. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes.????There is still the decline and extinction. We??ll take care of it. A figure stumbled up the knob haltingly. was being used already. where he was stopped by a Two. He sipped his martini. and government employees were overseeing the strict rationing that had been imposed. W-2 said. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. as she was and would be.

 he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew. Entire species of fish are gone. just damn gone. W-one can??t do anything for him. a long. leaving the cart behind. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. And I had become an atheist. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information.?? Vlasic said. ??The corn crop has failed. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept. ??They might form a committee to protest this act of the devil. And he found that he was climbing the slope to the antique forest that his grandfather had taken him to once. ??They just left him there and brought up their own. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. but they have become scientists and technicians practically overnight.

 Others formed a scouting party. half carried her back to their room. like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. What??s wrong with you?????Get out of here.?? he said. or anywhere else.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. I??m telling you what the goddamn government doesn??t dare admit yet. his voice hard and flat now. No one could anticipate how many of them eventually would be fertile. down the other side of the knob. still holding Lucy??s hand. One of the newcomers was a C1-2. Some abnormalities were present. .??Wordlessly David turned and left. then wheel him out the door and down the hall.