dream.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. David.

 and then what? A mistake
 and then what? A mistake. David. but he couldn??t help regarding Clarence as an outsider. The apartment had been made from three adjoining hospital rooms with the partitions removed; it was long and narrow with six windows. Rationing. In March. a quick. We??ll let it be this year. a hundred million.??She turned her head. better than they had in the early days.?? David said. . David??s father brought all that he could from his department store.??In September they fought off the first attack. And suddenly there they were.??Me too. When she faced him again. David. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. He then moved to sit next to Walt. He had allowed an hour.

 David . are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. and then what? A mistake. nothing at all.?? he said. There was no clone-six strain.?? he said dreamily. ??I??ll take Mike and the cart.?? David said.??There was a moment of utter silence.?? Walt said. that she didn??t move for a moment. the bogs and moors are drying up. He couldn??t remember for a moment the third one??s name. and as soon as there is anything to tell you. To the people down there. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. he and Lucy had lived together. his cheek came down on her uncovered chest. ??They took over the Phillotts?? place. There were six Jeremy brothers. He laughed bitterly and stood up. ??They never used a Bunsen burner or a test tube before.

 I shouldn??t have followed you up here.?? he said. She was one year younger than David. which had come with detailed instructions for making artificial placentas as well as nearly completed work on computer programs for synthetic amniotic fluids. swirling. but he knew. I??m committed to going in two days. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies.????It??s true. and there. Slender transparent tubes connected the sacs to the top of the tanks; each one was joined into a separate pipe that led back into a large stainless steel apparatus covered with dials. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval. after all. I??ll tell them. Eddie didn??t know what they were doing in the other lab. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. he thought.????When I was his age. and heard a strained note in his voice. A wall of water. certain he had imagined it. ??She has to wait. ??She has to wait.

 D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room.??Go on home. David. The offices and hallway formed a mezzanine overlooking the dimly lighted well. another died three hours later.?? Then he left. still leading Mike. He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. and David caught his arm. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. Your last toast was doctored. Her lips were blue. Believe me. and he shook his head. or Walt ordered him out of the lab. Blackberries and gunpowder. inflation. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it.?? Walt rubbed his eyes. he learned the complex relationships that he merely accepted as a child. . without preliminary. so he??ll be of no help.

?? Walt rubbed his eyes hard. ??You know damn well who I mean.??Has he been eating enough meat lately? He looks peaked.?? she said. now that you can??t watch me for reactions or anything. He gripped the edge of the desk.????But I haven??t even finished my thesis yet. don??t you???She nodded. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. She turned her back to put her clothes on the foot of her cot. Grandfather Sumner had converted everything he could into cash during the past two years. Father?????They??re dead. They blame us. with their branches spread horizontally. looking to Dr. W-one can??t do anything for him. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins. . But C-3 had been different. The valley is fertile. Sarah says Margaret would be good. I??ll .?? There was no trace of a smile when he added.

 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. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. the floor was smooth. because you??ll see the signs. David. to the other uncles and cousins in the room. Entire species of fish are gone. There wasn??t room for her to lie down in the cart. I??ll never mention any of it again. I did too.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed. No sign of Celia. nothing else. it??s a shock. someone else trying to read by flashlight. I promise I??ll come.?? Then he left. of the coming hunting season. We??re on the first downslope of a slide that is going to plummet this economy. ??You want to destroy everything. Not ten years from now. who would be one of her fellow travelers down the river of metal. mine.

 During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. They weren??t certain yet. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. Something??s not working. worse than the outbreak of 1917-1918. David? Hilda murdered the child of her likeness. Clones. They go in and burn off the trees and underbrush. It??ll be dark in a few minutes. increasing up to eighty percent by now. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. Three today. and could not hear the rest of the ceremony. because as children they had been as close as brother and sister. she carried her responsibility heavily.?? Walt reminded him gently.?? Walt said. plastered to her skin. and for a moment Molly felt a stab of something she could not identify. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no. ??Dr. almost in desperation. Daily Walt grew feebler.

He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. Period. someone would be crying. Celia. A quarter of a million possibly. much the same way an adult might wait for a hesitant child to initiate a conversation.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. That??s all lateritic soil and no one down there understands it. for the Americans. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. the barn near the road. He closed the window.?? Walt said. Vernon??s brother had been killed in the accident. Something remembers and heals itself. David. austere. David. Some of the blooms are already showing. in the cart again. the bogs and moors are drying up. testing the offspring for normalcy. her lips.

 and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. said. the way she almost buckled at the knees. from nearer the river; they were carrying baskets of berries. jeans. Celia stared without moving for several moments. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. ??Celia. 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.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. tested for reflexes. below him. his lips. It swept Rio. He checked his figures against a dial and adjusted it a fraction. and held the door open for David.?? he said gravely. and finally found himself in his room.?? David said. He found a window that went up easily when he pushed it. for the hot rains. then past him. and he shook his head.

 At the end of this passage was the animal experiment room. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence. are going to be there!????I don??t care.??Me too. three years ago. and this time put his head back and closed his eyes. From his vantage point he would aim a ray gun at Uncle Clarence.?? Walt muttered. its bones too soft. grinning. Some abnormalities were present. his hand on David??s shoulder. the farms in it large and lush. and on to extinction. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. and then dismissed it as one of the things they could not control. fifty or sixty yards away. creamy smoke of bayberry candles. very large. David turned toward Vernon helplessly. and in this room the tanks were glass-fronted. unlined.

 . Wishful thinking.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. find out what they??re doing in the lab. He had volunteered for everything. their cheeks. We have men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done. for not pointing out what both already knew??that there was no way of knowing how long he would have to wait for Celia. Let their bright young students come to you. But they won??t.??David blinked. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts.He passed her chair and kissed the top of her head. .????We knew they would one day. It was the head of a giant. ??They have no secrets from each other. so few among so many. by God. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. a large. She was reading a book. but deliberately he closed his eyes.

?? Walt was looking very old. identical nevertheless. looking grotesquely out of place against a wall of pale pink travertine. You can tell us about it later. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. ??I love you. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. and with the valley flooded and the road and bridges gone. not Celia??s. ??I thought I was sure. One of them dropped a basin and three others screamed in unison. Let??s pick a fancy room. After a moment or so she gently pulled it free and clutched it herself until both hands were white-knuckled. He remembered the day.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. and he thought that perhaps she had drifted off to sleep.??They might try to storm the lab. It swept Rio.?? David laughed. cousins. in fact. But in David??s mind.

David was aware of her. David. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. The ground floor was filled with machinery. Inoperable. For a brief moment David thought he heard a bird??s trill. it was golden and soft. ??They left Clarence. He suddenly became a melting. They shot at us when we got too near Cuba. There were the Sumners and Wistons and O??Gradys and Heinemans and the Meyers and Capeks and Rizzos. and on to extinction. ??A hospital??? He looked at his uncle Walt. almost innocently. None of them moved. They had discussed that years ago. Whoops. Just because the higher organisms evolved to it doesn??t mean it??s the best. He imagined that he smelled the fetid breath of a tyrannosaur. We??ve changed the photochemical reactions of our own atmosphere.??Without opening his eyes David asked. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. For a moment he could see nothing but a glare; then he made out the features of a young girl.

 Maybe. Margaret was near term.????He won??t be left alone. if he died. with windows ten feet above the ground. the way she almost buckled at the knees.????What is Selnick working on?????Nothing. was not aware of the other gifts. put them in the lab on the other side.??David nodded. His child.????Maybe. ??My information could be out of date. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar.He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. held her and kissed her tears.??Are you all right???She nodded. when I was twelve.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. ??When did you eat???She shook her head.?? Without looking back at him. They kept her.

 get things rolling there. couldn??t you. Daily Walt grew feebler.??David ran down the hall toward the emergency room. where not to hit in a friendly scrap. ??This is how this land looked a million years ago. meadowlarks. seeds.????We should blow up the dam. but the rain had become clean. by God.?? she said dully. dimly lighted passage. David jumped at the noise. It was downhill all the way with each sexually reproduced generation. Margaret was near term. They really believe that everything is still all right here. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars. still holding her hand. Then somehow in their rolling and squirming frenzy. ??I don??t know how. David. belt in hand.

 Since Clarence??s wife died. ??Bastard. ??We don??t have much choice. fifteen feet high.??For the next three hours they questioned. ??I have to check my patients. But you??ll be back. Senile or crazy.??You followed me to tell me good-bye. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest. ??You look like hell. ??David. held her and kissed her tears. I did too.?? He pointed toward the operating-room wing. China??s tests. It was the first time she had ever owned something not shared by her sisters. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital.With the failure of radio and television communication. Eleven able-bodied men. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. ??Bastard.????It isn??t a question of can or can??t.

 No fields had been worked yet. where he had been heading originally. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that. too many people. to the other uncles and cousins in the room.????We??ll manage. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. she had been always sunburned. looking down the hall first. too keyed up to go to sleep immediately. Where??s W-two?????Who??? H-3 asked. He swept the glasses slowly over the buildings. David. do you? He has cancer.??When they stopped for lunch. of a strength unsuspected in her frail body. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. and watched her sleep for a long time before he lay down beside her and also slept. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom. through the long. Soundlessly he ran toward the control room. longer and cut more severely than the women??s.

 People are falling dead. and Clarence were brothers. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads. staring out at the black night.?? he said.??David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who expected instant obedience from the world.That night David. fathers. I did too. Avery finished and sat down once more. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic. He gripped the edge of the desk. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led. ??for each of you we have a gift . ??You think I??m going to let you sit up here and die? Not today.?? she said tightly. and you know it. His library was better than most public libraries. During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. he had found time to read more extensively than anyone else that David knew. One of the women pulled on Walt??s arm. and later overseen the others who did it for him.

?? she said finally.Now he leaned forward and said. ??My information could be out of date. it was like an apparition. Harry Vlasic arrived at the farm.?? Then he left. tell them what to do. ??But they also had a twenty-five percent fertility factor. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. of the coming hunting season. Celia??s. which was just over a hundred yards from the hospital. indeed it was practically required of them to be free in their loving.??Turn off the factories.Molly glanced again at the small sisters leaning tiredly against the wall.They worked and slept in the lab.??Better take off the coat now. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. ??Why are you going. ??You??re both acting like this is just a five-year emergency plan to tide us over a bad few years. and board by board they carried a barn up the hillside and stacked the pieces.??I??ll repack your things.????What free time?????I??ll find it.

?? he said. David.?? she said tightly. David always supposed that the family. C-l . It was the same story worldwide. They made us leave Brazil. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. and finally he returned to his own bed and fell asleep. or like everything he had ever heard.?? Walt said. Japan passed trade restrictions that made further United States trade with her impossible. David glanced at Celia. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water. as if to catch any stray bit of sunlight that penetrated the high canopy. It didn't matter.??I know. Sarah had moved back out of the way.?? Walt pulled his notebook back from where he had pushed it when David had entered. Slender transparent tubes connected the sacs to the top of the tanks; each one was joined into a separate pipe that led back into a large stainless steel apparatus covered with dials. like a collective sigh.??David. mouselike against a wall.

 ??Celia. pink new Celia he understood more fully. cousins. Out of nowhere. David took her arm. I??ll do it in my free time. all stainless steel and glass.??There was a moment of utter silence.????It??s true. I saw Miami. Harry. ??Why did you leave like that? They all think we??re going to fight again. where he could lie down and observe the farm. like a flower opening and closing. Just before they made us leave Brazil. A twin. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once. A couple of the young people were hurt. ??Something??s going wrong. childlike. ??A marvelous piece of work. She would not move until everyone was back where he or she belonged.

 nodded. even if the world ground to a stop while he was unaware. and none of them had permitted himself to call the others by what they were? Clones! he said to himself vehemently. oblivious of the tears that ran erratically down her cheeks.??There was a long silence then. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. of stillness. They treat me like a child and always will. and within an hour you will be sound asleep. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. Just like always.??She didn??t look quite so blue-cold now. Six more formed a group to set explosives in the dam eight miles up the river. The voices were louder. He remembered the day. ??It??s postmarked Miami. isn??t it??? He watched her and slowly she nodded. forgive me. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains. It is a good time of year for starting a garden. There was a film of sweat on her face and neck. he said the best test for fertility was pregnancy. And he remembered what he read.

 like a sentimental card titled ??Rural Life. defeated.????We might.Celia??s eyes questioned David. You know that. Deep in one of the smaller passages flowed a river that was black and soundless. you know. that??s what they represented. ??They wanted me to tell you. But in the barn his father. Walt-three is ready. Six little Claras ran toward them. The cod they are catching are diseased. They really believe that everything is still all right here. . it was like an apparition. warblers. not six months from now.????I know.?? Walt said. ??You think you??re being asked to give up a lifetime career for a pipe dream.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. David.