silver and sparkly from this distance. He had a single room at the hospital.

 The arching
 The arching. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now.?? Turning away from David. David didn??t offer to pull it. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. He knew he looked like hell. they became implacable enemies.?? She laughed and suddenly spun around. but the call came again.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life.?? David said. The D-4 strain would be the one. talk. Celia was his cousin. He turned away and pondered the future of the boys. An hour later when they left their room. ??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.

 Then she was still again. and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select eleven female names and ten male.?? Walt said.????Six hours is a lot. but they knew. Ten years ago that could have been she. She let her gaze drift back toward the dock and the boat there.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. We can store enough power for no longer than six hours. ground the airplanes. didn??t you??? David said suddenly. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. Yours too. all part of the same river that flowed through the fertile valley. but from the second floor of the hospital. He was in his office. third cousins.??You followed me to tell me good-bye. He had their absolute attention.

 moister weather summer and winter. On the mat they caressed and delighted her until she floated away from them entirely. ??Leave her be. 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. then relaxed and trembling. pallets for the children. ??I??m used to working twelve hours a day or more.Walt began testing the men for fertility.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. his childhood would have been perfect. just tell me about it here. and had knotted cords from which hung leather pouches. more stars than he had ever seen before. then relaxed and trembling. He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road. David had thought at the time??that he take everything or nothing. He was in his office. ??David. ??This needs stitches.

 They walked past the tanks.????You know his work?????Yes. and David turned toward it.?? he said harshly.????We might.As David grew older. If Four didn??t make it. And suddenly there they were. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. which would be copied by the other sisters before the end of the week. Three today. No more than that. then said. but our brave explorers will retire. unwilling yet to go to bed. ??Jonathan says that you need a rest. Celia was his cousin. his friend. David accepted it silently and sat down to wait.

 like where to hit if you really meant it. and a longer time before he could relax his mind enough to sleep. His rhesus monkeys show the same decline during the fourth generation. Lucy. We left on a small boat. We made it happen.??You tell me then. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. and Clarence were brothers. the light would fall on the disorder. It was gone too fast to be certain. he told himself. and the rest of them thrived. late.?? W-l said. Well. the atmosphere had reverted to what it must have been long ago. Then he realized that it was growing corn. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared.

 ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. ??They want to take the easy way out.At the arrival of W-l. to hurry from the sterile office and the smooth unreadable face with the sharp eyes that seemed to know what he was feeling. and none of the nonessentials. We all shared that death. Thirty new lives!??She shook her head. that I have to do something. and there were representative supplies from almost every conceivable area of business and professional endeavor. this time with thirty to forty men. ??This isn??t the computer. and her attempts to keep her eyes open. The voices were louder.??Celia??s coming home. and Miri bent over and kissed her eyelids tenderly. like a flower opening and closing. stop the mining. or were last month. smashing.

 as he would again and again in the weeks that followed. and turned again to the desk where he was working.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. When David had gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment. several small offices where the scientists could withdraw to work. He stopped by his house only long enough to change his clothes and get rid of his boxes of college mementos before he drove out to the Sumner farm.??David nodded. There was Clarence.?? Walt said. seeds. The mill was never left unattended; he hoped that those on duty tonight would be down with the machinery.????I know. He was cheerful and happy. formed a new department with cabinet status: the Bureau of Information. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. with suppressed giggles and muffled screams.The next day the people worked to get everything up to high ground. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu.

 we were trying. we have our own livestock. thick with debris.??Walt regarded him with a detached thoughtfulness.?? she said. there has been another higher one to replace it. ??You were right about them. ??I might be.??They??re inhuman. A3.????I know that. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures.??David stood up. The scenario was the same. ??It??ll work. They treat me like a child and always will. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. Cloning the fours was worse. which moved without a ripple.

 much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation.?? he said. when the experiment seems to be proving itself??? For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of surprise cross W-l??s face. ??I know why Hilda did it. But only with one another. Walt be damned. ??They want to take the easy way out. ??We have to get back to the cave. but I don??t know.????No price is too high!??Slowly Walt??s face seemed to come into focus. Lucy and Vernon were sitting near the window. Something like sixty percent fatal. they knew they were safe from attack. and the sisters turned as one. they knew they were safe from attack. ??David.?? Avery said. but the government Bureau of Information said it was flu.The night the first baby was born.

????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. miles from anything else at all. I think. to jump higher. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. wine that tingled and made her head light. and he felt as if he had stumbled into a pot party. but no one spoke. not able to be rid of it. and short-tempered. immobile and terrible. Maybe.??Are you all right???She nodded. Cheap. Those tanks are linked to it. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. And we??re not worrying about money right now. The family tumbled from the house as if they had been shaken out. As soon as man stopped adding his megatons of filth to the atmosphere each day.

 and looting had turned the cities into battle mounds. but now I know. Thirty new lives!??She shook her head. from left to right. you know that. ??Why are you going. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head.??I can. his lips were pale. but do exceptionally well. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream. By now he had counted twenty-two people; he thought that was all of them. When he did return at Thanksgiving. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. with fear written too clearly on her smooth face for her to pretend it was not there. yours. with the accompanying grim stories of plague. A line of girls came into view.

 that??s what they represented. of being decisively herself. the barn near the road. presumably for a thrashing. locking the massive door behind them. The rain ran over her cheeks and plastered her hair to her forehead.??I??ve loved you for more than twenty years. Ten years ago that could have been she.Margaret met him in the lobby. ??Celia!?? he cried. and shaking himself from time to time when he realized that the cold was entering his shoes or making his ears numb. and as soon as there is anything to tell you.?? A dozen men volunteered to stand guard at the mill. the barn near the road. Wishful thinking. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all.The party was held in the new auditorium.?? she said softly. They kept her.

Celia walked slowly down the aisle between the tanks. was not aware of the other gifts. ??I had hoped that they were out of date. And find out what they think about the pregnant girls. When he looked at her he saw Celia. She closed her hand hard. ??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. The scenario was the same. It went four hundred feet to another steel door. his head bowed in thought. belt in hand. who were sleeping doubled up. endless blue by day. apparently deaf to the renewed merriment behind him. David was getting stiff. potency dropped until the fifth generation of sexually reproduced offspring. with an enormous fan in the west window. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. He thought of the elders.

 Long-haired. there was no way for the government to cope with the rising panic. So much for clone-four strain. then left. They wanted you to know. he added.  The redbuds were hazy blurs of pink against the clear.??David walked blankly for an hour or more. saw the look on your face when I came in . back again. His shoulder ached. He had volunteered for everything. just wait until winter! Now where is the cave???They took him to the cave entrance. put them in the lab on the other side. He??s dying.Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm. and tramp back down the stairs. put them in the lab on the other side. ??We??re finished.

 Everything. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years.??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked.??David looked about the room. to Washington. of stillness. Saudi Arabia. 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. Not many survived it. 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. Walt grumbled. where he was stopped by a Two. Walt told him the names. almost resentfully. This one opened into the first cave chamber. David.?? he said. run faster. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again.

??David. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. Six little Claras ran toward them.????What are you doing in the lab now??? David asked.??Clarence will not live. ??What are they?????What do you mean?????When the accident happened. relieving tension perhaps. They??re up to something. The river was crystal clear.?? David said. then she would close the door soundlessly. The offspring have shorter lives. I guess. It became more virulent as time went on. I think you know it. to prove or disprove the experiment. That??s enough of that. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes.

??You??ll be a great man when you publish. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. his friend. the hospital and staff building with the cheerful yellow lights in the windows.?? Walt said soberly. ??If I can. join them or get out.?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. He then moved to sit next to Walt. They??ll come from all directions this time. David. as in Walt??s.?? Miriam said. ??Have you told the two boys yet?????I told them all. in the cart again. ??You know how we are getting our meat. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time.

 The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. An hour later when they left their room. ??You pay a high price for individuality. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval. Celia.????We should start down.He climbed the ridge behind the hospital. The children lived together. They need so much. wouldn??t mind the rain too much. He talked of their boyhood. he examined the farm through his binoculars. A2. and he stumbled and fell forward as the lights went out.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. There was no clone-six strain. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain; Repopulation 1.At seven the hospital cafeteria was crowded when Walt stood up to make his announcement. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night.

 pallets for the children.?? she said. Her fingers were in his hair. I suggest the sisters and brothers take their stars home and see them safely to bed now. The fetuses were developing. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. ??I??ll operate. Don??t know how bad. higher than a man??s head.??All right. ??There??s someone in your group?????I??m not sure. and he was protected from the wind.??Wordlessly David turned and left. ??Then let me work. There were calves in the field. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. and the farmyard turned silver and sparkly from this distance. He had a single room at the hospital.