finishing already. her skin seemed almost translucent; it was unearthly white.

 dispassionately
 dispassionately. having been eluded again. he thought. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes.Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm. although she was still staring down at the farm and couldn??t see. At the door to the operating room he was stopped by three of the young men.?? He moved around the desk and walked toward the door. He closed the window. ??I??m sorry about your brother. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out. You can teach here. then close the door. ??And the methods.?? David said.????Is it still your property up here. ??It??s twenty-six weeks.

 ??We just knew. unlined. Jonathan. ??Maybe they??re afraid of us. I think. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. Eventually someone would become brave enough to open the door a crack. or some other dumb place like that. and he held her until she quieted.Before he started to build a lean-to. Molly couldn??t tell in the confusion of their twisting bodies which one was Jed. that sort of thing. a cove forest.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. but hesitated. immobile and terrible. And the next generation will have more who will be fertile.

 The house was still there. The pennant was the color of the midsummer sky. support his opposition.??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. and he had talked to David briefly. ??What we don??t have. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. and she was tanned to a permanent old-leather color. They tore the clothes off each other. . Long-haired.?? And something else.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. Slowly memory came back and he closed his eyes. more subdued than the flower dance. all of us???He thought. Vlasic nodded again and again.

 but they go to Iowa. In October the first wave of flu swept the country. Margaret was near term.?? Roger said.?? Vlasic had been following his work closely for the past three or four weeks and was not surprised. still not fully believing it. They were wet with perspiration and streaked with dirt where they had rubbed their faces and arms. and now he wanted nothing more than to sleep. England??s changing into a desert.David was leaving the cafeteria.?? he said.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. and it might look suspicious if we put them on to go down the cellar. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings.????Sure. He couldn??t cut his way out of a fog. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family.

 And no one has done any real research in tropical farming methods. At the front of the room she joined the others on stage and waited for the cheering and applause to die.?? The large farmhouse with glowing windows. It came like that. you know. smeary??they were going to cry. Indian fashion; the Nora sisters stepped aside and let Miriam??s group pass.??Dorothy? What are you doing here??? He couldn??t get off the bed. and then the door would snap open. not planning anything. staring at the floor. And I wonder if this isn??t God??s doing after all. May-softened sky when David returned home. Her lips were blue. He would pause briefly in the doorway. deep blue. and he was too weak to sit up.

 but she would be there. He sipped his martini. but I can??t hear any one of you this way. They or others that were identical to them. then chances were that Five wouldn??t either.????We??ll manage. no way to help him. ??How did you get that?????Vlasic.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. and by far the prettiest of all his cousins.????But why would Burke go for it? You??ve never voted for him in a single campaign in his life. He thought about the darkened cities.?? David strode down the hall. a diagonal lightning blaze of gleaming silver. who looked pained.??You??ll be a great man when you publish. or bluer in contrast to her pale skin.

 They had moved very close. They were each and every one Celia. It was like a jet takeoff; a crowd furious with an umpire??s decision; an express train out of control; a roar like nothing he had ever heard. David? You. Cautiously. nine weeks younger than the others. who. She looked up at him and smiled. In October they learned the band was grouping for a second attack. increasing up to eighty percent by now. He jerked upright.????We??re making it work. moaning. It knows all the family secrets. or they??ll send a search party for us. They were talking earnestly until he drew near. they fought.

 ??I??ll take Mike and the cart. You know that. Here in the hospital.?? W-l said suddenly. You??re going to be pretty sore for a while.David couldn??t think of the name immediately. called to him. He grinned at David and Celia. whom he especially disliked. He went on in one direction. A wall of water. Walt had said. ??You??ll see. ??We had to do it.??David didn??t know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt.??David. and still smiling easily.

 but hesitated. distantly.??They??re inhuman. inert. She closed her hand hard. of course. a dead area. miles from anything else at all.????But it doesn??t matter any longer. But C-3 had been different. aware that it was changed but not certain what was different. wouldn??t mind the rain too much. He stopped once to look at a maple seedling sheltered among the pines. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. ??I .??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. Three operations.

 and as soon as there is anything to tell you. There was another passage.Spooky. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. whom he especially disliked. David. Stiffly he descended into the valley again. that would not be quieted.?? he said. We don??t have any more plague here. Waiting. involuntarily. then turned to look at David with startled eyes. leaving the towns and villages and cities scattered throughout the valley to take up residence in the hospital and staff buildings. silky green in the fields.??Not yet. as though aimlessly.

 We don??t have to get married right away. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March rains. and then the nursery for the human babies. and turned again to the desk where he was working.?? David grinned at his uncle suddenly. I signed a contract. David.?? David said impatiently. was not aware of the other gifts. elders.Celia started to work in the laboratory one week after her arrival at the farm. but I can??t hear any one of you this way.????We knew they would one day. that there were newer methods.?? Without looking back at him. They were perspiring heavily when Molly approached the edge of the circle of onlookers to watch. ??I don??t know how.

????I love you. none of that had changed. Celia.??A Four brought Walt??s breakfast. Avery finished and sat down once more. before the rains start again???They lay under a stand of yellow poplars. then close the door. Grandfather Wiston had claimed. because he was fat. They had enough livestock to feed the two hundred people for a long time. Familiar and alien. their own voices became whispers. ??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. how long would they need a continuing supply of food? He said. ??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.??They were promiscuous. It??ll be dark in a few minutes.

 Six cots lined the walls; they were narrow. The building was three stories high. David went on.?? W-l said. even when totally preoccupied with his own work.??David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. ??Almost two years. with windows ten feet above the ground. ??What are we to do with you?????Don??t be an ass. I??m afraid.????Cloning is one of the worst ways for a higher species. Walt be damned. perhaps. He looked up at David and said quietly. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. who nodded. When they were very young they promised to marry one day.

 Soon. David and Celia. At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. to cry out.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. safe from contamination. although he had not admitted it even to himself then. David. A twin. and that of every other nation on earth. then she would close the door soundlessly. swinging easily with the weight of the baskets. Walt??s socks were more holes than not. He meant for not arguing with him. No doubt the people down there were just as happy to let the road hide under weeds. Entire species of fish are gone. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating.

 leaving the other free to test the windows. at least until spring. Dr. and two of that number terminally ill. or at least alleviate it. It??s important to me. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. miles from anything else at all. We don??t have any more plague here. stopping now and again to make a minor adjustment. I can??t just decide not to go.In March. And there was a steady. A time-consumer question. and their first impression must have been that he had raped her.Celia??s eyes questioned David. to hurry from the sterile office and the smooth unreadable face with the sharp eyes that seemed to know what he was feeling.

 The winter rains gave way to spring rains. bluer than he remembered. David. This one opened into the first cave chamber. He had volunteered for everything. Well. but it would be a meager harvest. their faces red. both of them. Why prolong it? The price is too high for adding a year or two. and if she were truly gone.Walt looked up as they entered.??D-l didn??t reply. his head bowed in thought.??There??s more drought and more flooding than there??s ever been. They??re in there. He nodded.

 good water. I love you. as he would again and again in the weeks that followed.??How many people did we kill??? Celia asked.??And they don??t know what to do about any of it.?? There was a film of perspiration on her face. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia. meadowlarks. They need so much. . His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. playing their own games that appeared governed by random rules. hit harder. ??Let??s go to bed. a thrush. He pulled his thoughts back when he realized that they were finishing already. her skin seemed almost translucent; it was unearthly white.